By Jagpreet Sandhu ,Chandigarh , December 30 : The ongoing New Year Extravaganza on Friday brought alive the diverse folk music and dance forms of Eastern states besides the evergreen Sufina kalaams by Manak Ali at sector 17 plaza. Manak Ali has performed at leading venues in India besides Austria, Vienna and Singapore.
The evening was inaugurated by the Home Secretary UT Sh.Anil Kumar. Also present were Secretary Tourism Sh.D.K.Tiwari, Director Tourism Ms.Tanvi Garg, Director ITFT Gulshan Sharma and other senior officers of Chandigarh Administration.
Manak Ali opened the evening with kalaams Baba Bulleh Shah Waris Shah and others like “Raiye wo naal sajjann de raiiye wo” followed by “Kinu kinu dassan raaz diyan gallan” and more. He was applauded by the audience especially for his ghazals “Tujhe kaun janta tha meri dosti se pehle”, “Aap mashook kya ho gaye”, “Layiyan layiyan mein tere naal” which were another hits.
Manak a renowned name from Patiala Gharana and especially famous from the name of Manak Ali, Malerkotla Wale. His career started in 1996 when he got a chance to perform at various locations. In 2002 he got award from Punjab Government for his sufi singing and this encouraged m to work hard to perform and sing well. After onwards he never looked behind and performed at various National as well International events. Few of his performances were at : Mumbai- Shivajipark, Calcutta- golf club, Madras- race court club, Hyderabad,Bangalore, J&k, Delhi- bharat Utsav tal-katora stadium. He has performed at international places including Austria,Viana and Singapore.
Adding to the evening around 50 Sikkim students gave a traditional Sikkim dance performance. Solo Dance by artist Pemakit Love song was appreciated a the audience a lot . Group Dance by artist Bhutia Tribe was about Tibetian New Year where people wine and dine and have fun. Solo Song by artist Samsong was about the Gorkha army praising them and being proud of them as they sacrifice their lives for the country.
On the final day of the New Year Extravaganza there will be a colourful International dance performance by Korean group consisting of 20 artists from Korea coming specially to perform in city. In addition to this, there will be a performance by a renowned Punjabi singer Satinder Sartaaj.