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Bash
of Bangra babes Dressed mostly in Northern Indian style, many women started to fill the empty seats, some with their family members. Though there were no stars in the sky, the glittering silver costumes of all the ladies illuminated the same flash of aurora as will be emitted from the stars. People who were there to celebrate the night, incorporated diverse background comprising of were Indians, Pakistani, and Nepali and there were lot of ethnic mixes between, Indian-Pakistani, Indian-Nepali, Pakistani-Sri Lankans and many more. It's amazing to dig the history of this lively form of folk music, Bhangra, performed at the harvests in the Punjab evolving into the modern music over the past five hundred years. The Bhangra music represents the culture of Punjab region, and the struggle of its people. The music still evolves, incorporating many elements of many different kinds of music around the world, while still existing in its traditional form. It was nearly quarter past nine; there was no sign of any music what so ever. While the men rounded themselves with the bottles, the ladies were occupied by art of mehidi, which was being applied by a famous mehidi artist. Enchanted by the scope of the mehidi, many women had their mehidi on their hands and palms. Gradually, the DJs fuse the music of Bhangra with local hip-hop, calling the crowd to take the floor. The music starts. The light flashes. Men are already grooving on the stage. The continuous call for women to join the floor ejuvenated them to actually try out their own style of groove. Hands flew in the air, feet grooves to the music and most of the crowds were on the dance floor. Though there was not much of Bhangra music played by the DJs, they were engaged somehow in giving the crowd the scoop of Bhangra songs mixed with local hip hop and R&B. Among the crowd, three women had their foot grounded on the stage, from the start. Clad in pink 'kurtha', Jessica, still seventeen was one of the three women. Many were inspired by her talent to twist and curl her body, the exact way of the tone of the music itself. Her beauty in knowing the exact moves, distinguished her from the rest of the lady dancers. Not so far, another middle aged lady, Jyoti Subba happens to catch the eyes of the crowd, with her wild movements, creating vibes on the stage. It's surprising to note how she can integrate and disintegrate her body according to the furious velocity of beat of the songs. Dressed in black, Kiran's unique slow moves with elegant style was not unnoticed in the crowd. After two hours of the shaky dances, many gave some rest to their feet and got down to taste the North Indian food. While some were engaged tasting their dishes, the three ladies and few others who didn't have the chance to create vibes on the flow, started to dance again. Few moments later, others, including men filled the stage and danced to the max!! Alas! The game of rhythm took some break, leaving the time to choose the best among the rest. Yes, it was the time, to choose the Bhangra Queen, the vigorous and the beautiful dancer. Not surprising, Kiran became the beautiful dancer. As expected, Jyoti Subba won the prize for the vigorous dancer. And the Bhangra Queen……Big Applause… its Jessica. The Award for Jyoti and Jessica is not just another award for their performance, but it is an Award for both mother and daughter. Yes, Jessica is the daughter of Jyoti. (No wonder!) It's already five minutes to midnight. Circling the winners, the crowd clapped while the winners were on the dance mood again. The sea breeze touched everyone, cooling their sweat. While everyone danced according to the tunes, the Bhangra night extended to the next day of a new month. |
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