Mood I begins with a bang

India's biggest students' cultural fest Mood Indigo began with a bang with Cosmic Confluence: the classical nite.

It was a star-studded evening with Hema Malini and Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt gracing the occasion.

IIT Bombay director Dr Ashok Misra lit the lamp at the inauguration ceremony. He lauded the efforts of the Mood I team in organising the festival and highlighted the all-round activities IIT encourages its students to participate in.

Then, the festivities began.

The first performance was a wonderful display of Bharatnatyam on skates. Two students from the Swami Vivekananda International School performed the Ganesh Vandana in a unique marriage of dance and gymnastics.

Then came Hema Malini's Tribute to the Gods.

Ahana Deol, the actress' talented daughter, began with an Odissi recital.

Hema Malini then performed a Bharatnatyam piece called Shiva Panchakshari, which depicts Parvati's marriage to Lord Shiva, and the significance of the five syllables that make up the all-powerful shloka, Aum Namah Shivay.

The response at the end of the recital proved how popular the Bollywood star still is.

Ahana performed another Odissi piece called the Gauri Tandav, in which Lord Ram asks Lord Shiva for help against the evil demon king, Ravana.

Hema Malini followed with a piece on Tulsidas, the great devotee of Lord Ram. Her performance described a scene where Lord Ram praises his disciple, Lord Hanuman, to his brother Bharata. So brilliant was the danseuse's performance that the audience burst into spontaneous applause even as the recital was on.

Finally, the mother-daughter duo performed together.

In a piece titled Parampara, they explored the ancient guru-shishya (teacher-disciple) relationship. The performance showed how this relationship was synonymous with the relationship between mother and child, god and devotee. It was a piece that married the different styles of Bharatnatyam and Odissi and brought out the best of both worlds.

Hema Malini and Ahana Deol were followed by Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, Pandit Ravi Shankar's disciple who has modified the lap steel guitar to create the unique Mohan Veena.

For an hour, the audience watched captivated as Panditji and then his son, Salil Mohan Bhatt, painted sonicscapes on Raag Maru Bihaag. The climax was a terrific jugalbandi with some innovative and highly skillful playing. A standing ovation and a demand for an encore followed.

Panditji acquiesced with a Rajasthani folk song. After the audience requested him, the maestro also played a bit from his Grammy winning album, A Meeting By The River. It was beautiful end to a stunning performance.