An outstanding performance

UANA Convention in North America on July 28, 2007 was an amazing event where we got to be up close and personal with the maestros of Uttarakhand. I was humbled as a person and proud of the land I come from. The sheer presence of these amazing dignitaries of our land amongst us was electrifying.

Dr. Pathak with his phenomenal knowledge of our land and his spell binding ability to knit the words together around what seemed like a photo album left an everlasting memory in my mind.

Girda, as he is affectionately called, was so easy to relate to as an elder of our community. He has this uncanny ability to say the right thing at the right time in the right way. He left me with this feeling that the time is slipping by and there is this urgency to do it NOW for Uttarakhand. He is a true activist and a poet artist revered amongst Uttarakhandis.

Narendra Singh Negi ji. THE most popular celebrity of our land left me speechless with his amazing voice, artistic flair and deep understanding of the needs of Uttarakhand. This combination of being a celebrity and still being grounded as a social worker and activist was an eye-opener for me.

What struck me the most was the humility of these dignitaries. This humility probably comes from our culture and partly from being amongst the people where there is a need for development/upliftment.

Chandrakala Pandey ji's Kathak performance provided unending grace to the occasion.

Apart from these guests who came from India we had Dr. Pandey, Dr. Jha, Dr. Prabhu Negi, Dr. Bhakuni, and Dr. Tariyal amongst us.

I am not sure if we will ever be able to put together such a group of people for any gathering. Those who attended this event have enjoyed a once in alife time opportunity.

The delays and technical challenges of the evening that the organizing team had to deal with were all non-factors by the time Girda and Negiji started their jugalbandi. The ever melodious songs 'Thando Re Thando' and 'Dhebra Harch gyani' rendered by the maestro himself will remain etched in memory for ever.

Kudos to the team from UANA who made this unique interaction with the maestros possible. I certainly hope that there will be another occasion like this.