Artistes of Rajasthani folk group Gazi Khan Mangeniar Gharana of Jaisalmer perform at Bakul Foundation in Bhubaneswar. Pictures by Ashwinee Pati

The cultural energy of the capital went up a notch higher as the renowned Rajasthani folk group, Gazi Khan Mangeniar Gharana of Jaisalmer, left young music lovers spellbound last week with their performance at various educational institutes. The troupe was touring the city as part of Virasat, a cultural expedition, organised by the Society for Promotion of Indian Classical Music and Culture Amongst Youth (Spicmacay). Led by Gazi Khan Barna, the troupe commenced their tour with an enthralling music and dance recital on the premises of Bakul Foundation. Using diverse instruments such as algoza (an indigenous flute), khartaal (a wooden percussion instrument) pungi (a wind instrument played by snake charmers), harmonium, sarangi and dholak, the artistes created a pulsating atmosphere. They set the tempo for the evening with Bulle nu samjhavan aiyan narrating the tales of Sufi mystic Baba Bulleh Shah. Much to the delight of the music lovers, the troupe’s next offering, Ashiq mast jalali, spoke about the love of a devotee for his God. The song described the intoxicating power of love and devotion. As the recital progressed, the baton was passed on to two female dancers, decked up in the traditional lehenga choli, who left the audience in a trance with their thumkas and acrobatic moves. The spectators applauded heartily when the dancers kept spinning with poise. The concluding act stole the show as the Italian associates of the foundation joined the dancers as the singers lent their mellifluous voice to the soulful Sufi song Dama dum mast kalandar. “After 15 years, we have once again associated with Spicmacay. We love to perform at places where youngsters can be exposed to the folk culture of the country,” said Khan, who has over 100 performances abroad to his credit. The group also performed at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, KMBB College of Engineering and Technology, HDF School of Management, KIIT University, Loyola School, Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar, Sai International School and Synergy College in the city during their stay from September 17 to 22.

Budding singers

Budding singers battled it out at ‘Voice of Srusti’, the in-house music competition of Srusti Academy of Management, Bhubaneswar, held on September 24. With Odia playback singer Bibhu Das occupying the judge’s chair, the young students were motivated to give their best. They chose popular songs from various genres, striking all the right chords and holding the audience in a thrall. Suchismita Acharya and Soubhagya Mishra were adjudged winners in the female and male categories respectively and received certificates and trophies. They also received trophies from Big 92.7 FM. Sales head of the radio channel Rashmi Ranjan Mishra has invited the winners to their studio for an interactive session with the radio jockeys. Dash, who has lent his voice to at least 35 films, said in a college imparting professional education, a platform like Voice of Srusti, would go a long way to produce balanced individuals. The event was organised by Srusti Music Club, headed by Sarita Mishra, assistant professor of the institute.

Techies for record

As software giant Microsoft attempted an entry into the Guinness Book of World Records for producing the maximum number of apps programmed for a single platform in 18 hours, over 3,500 developers, including students, turned up in Bangalore for the marathon event on Friday. Among them was a youngster from Odisha, Swagatam Mukherjee, a student of Kushagra Institute of Information and Management Science, who racked his brains to design market ready apps on the Windows 8 platform. Though he could not survive the 18-hour gruel, he said the exposure has done a world of good to him. “I got the opportunity to meet some of the best brains in the country. It was a rewarding experience,” Swagatam said. This is the first time that Microsoft has introduced an app store for its non-mobile ecosystem. Windows 8 is slated to release in the last week of October. Social justice nEducation and character building is the only solution to social inequality and other social problems, said Justice Gyan Sudha Misra, a judge of the Supreme Court. He delivered a seminar lecture on ‘Social Justice: Issues and Challenges’ at KIIT Law School, Bhubaneswar on September 22. “One person cannot change the community, everybody has to be aware,” she said. A healthy society can be set up only after eradication of all discrimination and inequalities. Elaborating on various hurdles on the way to social justice, she said social justice could be achieved only by legislation. In spite of various provisions of social justice in the Constitution, there is a lot of discrimination, she said, adding that it was society’s responsibility to realise the dream of social justice as enshrined in our Constitution. Parents have a responsibility to mould the thought process of the children from the very beginning, which would go a long way in achieving social justice, she said.

It’s raining jobs

Ten students of Gayatri College of Pharmacy, Sambalpur, have been recruited by a leading pharmaceutical multinational company. The Alkem Lab Limited conducted the recruitment test held on September 22 and shortlisted 27 students out of which 10 were finally given job offers for the company’s Sikkim plant, said placement officer of the college Atish Satpathy. “Two months ago, another multinational pharmaceutical company had come to our campus and selected nine students,” said Satpathy.

Blood donation camp

Capital-based Institute of Management and Information Science, in collaboration with the Young Indians-Bhubaneswar chapter and Red Cross, conducted a blood donation camp on its campus on September 22. As many as 113 units of blood were collected at the camp inaugurated by Amar Patnaik, accountant general (audit), Odisha.