The author gives an account of his unforgettable experience of enjoying-Indian music and dance. He visited Bombay when a major festival of Indian music and dance was being organized there. In his first visit he came to see the musical concert of Bismillah Khan on the invitation of Vimla Patil.

Bismillah Khan was the illustrious master of shehnai. Shehnai is a double-reeded wind instrument similar to the oboe. The writer enjoyed the extraordinary performance of shehnai. The Indian friends of the writer explained him and translated many things for him which he did not understand. The author was dressed in long trousers, shirt and a shawl was around his neck. He enjoyed both the wind and the cool air in the open air concert hall.

The author had heard Bismillah Khan on records but the sound of shehnai was much less familiar to him than that of the stringed sitar or sarod. In the concert hall he was immediately enchanted by the master’s brilliant performance. Bismillah Khan produced a series of musical sounds that produced exquisite melodic patterns evoking shades of mood ranging from light- hearted joy to spiritual serenity.

The author was deeply affected by the magical; haunting sounds of Bismillah Khan’s shehnai. The sounds of shehnai reminded the author of the jazz music and Mozart and his association with folk songs in his childhood. The audience responded the music with great enthusiasm. But there was a mark of sadness in the face of the audience. It was clear to every body that Bismillah Khan, at sixty-five, was unable to perform the same music as he had done in his youth. He asked politely for a break saying that he could not have the stamina and energy of the youth to perform.

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In the second evening, the writer enjoyed the Odissi dance. Odissi is one of the classical forms of dance. Dance has formed an integral part of worship in India from ancient times. It is still the purest artistic expressions of spirituality. In classical dance drama the artist presents the well-known stories from Hindu mythology by communicating a series of emotions through an elaborate language of stylized body posture, gesture and facial expressions. The author went to the performance with a group of young people. One of the ladies of the group was a student of Odissi dance. The special attraction of that evening was not only to see Sanjukta Panigrahi but also her celebrated guru, Kelucharan Mahapatra who does not generally dance publicly. The guru would dance in that occasion.

Before the dancing performance the writer was taken backstage where he saw Sanjukta and Guruji prepare for dance. He was introduced and was taken to an adjoining area where Sanjukta and Guruji were engaged in an intimate ritual. Sanjukta was fully dressed for the performance. They faced each other in prayer, whispering intensely and with closed eyes. It was a scene of utmost concentration which ended with the Guruji blessing and kissing on Sanjukta’s forehead. The author was amazed by Sanjukta’s dress, makeup and jewellery. He was even more fascinated by Guruji. Guruji’s appearance transcended conventional ideas of male and female, young and old. He was putting on a ritualistic dress.

The performance was magnificent. Sanjukta evoked a ceasless stream of emotions through her refined movements and gestures. Her poses were almost like the poses of deities in temples. The most wonderful experience of the author was to see Guruji performing hrs initial invocations. He appeared with a plate of candles. His movement on the stage made the author spellbound. He thought Guruji as if some being—from another world. He was a personification of archetypal movements.