It was a spectacular sight to watch in the early hours of the day. For a few moments, people surrounding the makeshift dais on the service road in front of the Spencers Hyper Market were transported to Odisha, the land of natural grandeur, on Sunday.
The surprises unfolded by The Hindu’s Car-Free Sunday this week included presentation of a scintillating folk dance, the Sambalpuri dance that had girls from Sri Vignana Vihara English Medium High School moving to rhythmic foot-tapping music that filled the air with freshness.
Even though people did not understand the song playing in the background, they watched with great interest the graceful movements and the simple steps that combined to become a delight for the viewers. Draped in bright costumes and accessorised with colourful beads and headgear, they showcased the freshness of the traditional rural flavour of Odisha.
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Vying for equal attention were the boys of the school who performed an interesting number called ‘Lazy dance by Crazy Boys’ that had them doing some slow movements but in a very appealing way. Praveen Kumar, dance master of Rockwell Dance Academy, brought his troupe to the venue that kept the spectators entertained as long as they ruled the dais.
Yet another group of students demonstrated karate feats. This was in addition to the regular activities of cycling, games like throw ball and tattoo-making. A good number of morning walkers and residents of the colonies in the vicinity descended on the venue to be part of an activity that has been designed to make the Sunday’s cheerful and full of mirth.