Dandiya for a cause

EVEN HOURS after the Dandiya beat fell silent, Chennai was alive to it.

The rhythm of Dandiya, the popular Gujarati dance form, was felt in every beat, as about 200-odd Chennaivasis (Gujaratis or not) danced away to the music till dinner time. At Connemara last Sunday evening.

Bhupendra Bhat and his team reproduced some of the popular Gujarati numbers like ``Dholida Dhol Dhimo Dhimo Vagadma'' and ``Madi Tara Mandiriyama.''

The usual switch-over to Hindi songs was also there, whether it is the recent chart toppers like ``Bhumrao Bhumrao'' or ``Dholi Taro Dhol Baje'' or the classic hits like ``Ajeeb Dastan Hai Yeh''.

Never mind the music, the clicks of the dandiya sticks in tandem with the beat of the drum was enough to keep the dancers going.

It could not have been more ethnic, rounding up with a sumptuous Gujarati meal. The menu read Dhokla, Lapsi, Bajra roti, Bhakari, Methi Gota, Khichdi and Kadi and much more.

But all the fun and frolic was in support of a cause.

The event was got up by the Rotary Club of Ambattur to raise funds to support its projects.

Primary among them is the high school in Ambattur which the Club had adopted where children of casual workers are provided free education.

Every click of the dandiya sticks, and every bite on the ``garam jalebis'' that evening would mean something - in fact, a lot, to the 560 students undergoing studies in the school.

By Saptarshi Bhattacharya

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Section  : Southern States
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