Dance Like an Egyptian

The marimba throbbed,the kanoon shimmered,the Egyptian flute whistled in the breeze and,with every pulse of music,the audience at Mavlankar Hall was transported to Egypt,amid the flying carpets,genies and alchemists.

The marimba throbbed,the kanoon shimmered,the

Egyptian flute whistled in the breeze and,with every pulse of music,the audience at Mavlankar Hall was transported to Egypt,amid the flying carpets,genies and alchemists. The event was a performance by Egyptian music group,Nesma Abdel Aziz,on Thursday. Among those present were Khaled El Bakly,the Egyptian Ambassador to India,and Suresh Goel of Indian Council of Cultural Relations.

The group has participated in the Citadel Festival,Arab Music Festival and the International Music Day in Paris,but this was their first time in Asia. They started the evening with original compositions,a series of foot-tapping numbers,before moving to western classical music by Johann Sebastian Bach and Antonio Vivaldi,jazz and traditional Arabic music.

As Nesma,the founder of the group,played the marimba,a percussion instrument from the xylophone family,lead vocalist Saamir,wearing a robe and headgear,belted out the traditional Egyptian song Shebak hil hawa. Mesmerised,the audience gave them a standing ovation and waved Egyptian flags. The tempo of the music picked up and

soon,people were dancing and hugging in the auditorium.

The audience in India is open to different cultures of music,

concluded Nesma,as crowds clapped in rhythm.

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