The Quirky Ragamalikans speak:
And those who were seen

dancing,

were thought to be insane

by those

who could not hear the music.

                               -Friedrich Nietzsche

 

Ragamalika, the Indian classical music and dance club is one of the most active clubs in BITS, Pilani. They believe that dance and music for them is not simply a form of art but more of an empathic link between the subtle variations of feelings and human emotions. All their pieces are self-composed and each practice introduces them to identifying small flaws and rectifying it with time for their performances.

 

Shreya Tripathy, drenched in enough perfume to make the Gandhi statue dizzy, was all smiles as she spoke at length about the club’s activities in the cultural fest.

 

The Classical Prof Show this Oasis is going to feature a flute Jugalbandi’ (a duet of sorts). The audience will witness a performance by Pandit Ronu Majumdar, a renowned Hindustani flautist, and JA Jayanth, one of the most promising flautists in the Carnatic music arena. Also going to accompany them are Shri Neyveli B Venkatesh on the mridangam and Shri Ramkumar Mishra on the tabla.

 

Apart from the Prof Show, they organize two more events; Swaranjali and Taandav, the music and the dance competitions respectively. The fact that both these events were solo competitions prevented a lot of participation, as most colleges have proper dance and music troupes which preferred coming in teams only. This time, however, group categories are being introduced in the event, to make it more receptive to participants.

 

Ever since her first year, Shreya has always felt that the work of the Oasis Co-ord is increasing exponentially and there are new things emerging, which can’t be foreseen or responded to very early. The club with a workforce of 20 has to labor in proportions similar to what is expected from a department.  But she is confidant that her team will be able to pull it off.

 

Classical music and dance is considered niche in present times. But the overwhelming success of last year’s Prof Show gives Ragamalika a reason to hope that since there is a Jugalbandi this time, best aspects of Hindustani and Carnatic music will be delivered with swerving ease and it will turn out to be an exciting performance. They want to see BITSians as well as outstation participants attending the Prof Show and the other two events alike. Because it’s not everyday you get to see masters of the art congregate to give in enthralling performances.