dada and satyamohan joshi wait in the front row
daji and sandaji escort the guests
the octagonal pagoda to the south gets silhoutted against the 'oranging' sky
surabi then annnounces the beginning of the evening's programme
sandaji's in a reflective mood...
the dutch consul and the deputy ambassador from delhi speak about the award and the fact that sandaji did not want to be the centre of attention during the award ceremony!
and finally the orange plaque is handed over
sandaji then starts speaking .. in 'tootey phootey hindustani'.... about how the winds from the desert from iran blow eastwards towards south asia... thus tracing the influence of the sufi singers... of the enmeshing of cultures and languages...
soon, as the skies darken to a deepish blue, the highlight of the evening begins.. the sufi singer.. madan gopal singh with his friends deepak (guitar), pritam (sarod), gurmeet (percussion) and our very own shyam nepali on the sarangi...
madanji in his element...
night had fallen.. it was chilly.. but the singing went on.. the audience hungry for more and the performers happy to offer more variety of songs
felicitations after the magical show was over...
the suntala award
posing with madanji...
sandaji with laxmi of himal southasia.. who made the evening happen the way it did
reception that the people didn't want to leave...
sandaji with mani lama and basanta thapa
baba with prof yadav (my guru)
miriam was there from new york..
the ladies who ensrued the success of the evening.. laxmi, mallika and surabi
sandaji flanked by the khambas of nepali artpromotion. .chirag bangdel and sangeeta thapa
with the dutch conneciton.. including jeroen roodenburg, dutch deputy ambassador in dilli (tall and in the middle)and hans heijdra, the dutch consul in kathmandu
the reception lingered for quite a bit. then we went to sandaji's place for dinner..
teetei from dilli was also there...
and lo and behold the instruments came back,. and madanji and company was singing to us about the tragic tale of heer ranjha amongst other songs...
well... it was a long evening.. it was nearly midnight when we left patan.. but the singing had not stopped...
