We got to know that we will be performing on October 15th, in Davangere about a couple of months back. That's when we began to practice our regular musical pieces of performance. We also planned to experiment something new, and, that was a medley of a few songs from the movie Devdas. Devdas consists of brilliant compositions by Ismayeel Darbar with amazing percussive arrangements and bols. We wanted this to be the biggest highlight of the show.
We began the final rehearsals with all the musicians on the previous day, early in the morning. We spent almost half a day on the preparation for the new experiment. We quickly ran through the other compositions since everyone were comfortable with them.
On the day of the show, we all assembled at Praveen sir's place around 6 AM in the morning. A tempo traveller was waiting for us. We practiced few doubtful places in the compositions in the journey and reached the venue by noon.
We relaxed for a while and then went to the Hemophilia care center, Davanagere. We met few patients there and, then, the doctor presented us with some knowledge about this deadly disease. We were touched when we came to know that the doctor himself was suffering from this disease and, the instance that made him pursue doctor although he aspired to be an engineer. We also felt bad about the situation when Praveen sir questioned that with the 22 years of struggle, it has resulted only in such a small building? It would be of great help if we could just quit a day's luxury and donate that saved money for this noble cause. We were all set to tears at that moment, especially when the patients shared the instances of how they have survived with this disease.
We then had lunch and left for the sound check at Bapuji auditorium. It took quite some time to get the right sounding of all of together along with the instruments. We then went back to our rooms to get dressed up for the show.
Our show began at around 7.30 in the evening. We started of with a song on Ganesha, "gam gam ganapathi", and it was a grand start. Unlike our previous shows, this show consisted of only performances by the whole team of Antardhwani. It was quite challenging to sustain the energy throughout the show, which we did manage quite well. Audience loved our show, and were demanding not to end the programme. That's a good sign of a good show :-) We finally concluded the show with a bow to the nation, "Vande Mataram".
We felt really good when quite a lot of people came up to the backstage to appreciate our work. We did have a good turn up for the show and none left the hall until the end. We spent some time taking photographs of each other, and, with Praveen sir. This is one such day which I'll not forget for quite a long time. We have been like a family and have performed like a single soul. The experience has been beyond words to explain. If you were not part of this show, you surely missed one of the greatest moments. Hope to see you with us on the next show!