Mastana 2001 - Sunday 11th March 2001, Faculty Of Music Concert Hall, West Road
After weeks of planning, organising and rehearsals, Cambridge University Hindu Cultural Society's 5th 'Mastana' was held on March 11th 2001. The big night, held at the University Concert Hall, opened with an excellently sung qawaali and the high standard set was maintained by enthusiastic performances including a veena instrumental, a polished solo dance from the film 'Dil Se', and a classical Raag Malkauns, again performed with excellent precision. An enchanting South Indian Bharatanatyam dance followed, and four tabla players then did a brilliant piece, mesmerising all those in the audience.
The first half of Mastana was concluded by two comedians who took the roof off with their rendition of 'Tujhe Dekha To Yeh Jaana Sanam' performed, shall we say, with a slightly alternative edge to it - including a boy in a saree playing an electric guitar! Judging by the laughs that they got, this was a firm favourite with the audience and the talk of the interval during which guests were served with delicious Indian snacks.
The second half of the show began with 'Merghum Karakuthu', a modern dance performed by a group of eight girls that again won much favour with the audience, due to a combination of excellent choreography and a superb performance. This was followed by an eclectic mix of acts, all equally as impressive including a bhajan and a solo piece on the sarod. A music group 'Bollywood Masala' followed, singing excellently and indeed getting all of those in the hall singing along to their favourites from hit films such as 'Roja', 'Maachis', 'Hare Krishna Hare Rama' and 'Seeta aur Geeta'. The penultimate act of the evening, was another well performed instrumental which included the mridangam, the morsing and the ghatam.
The show was rounded off by a finale with the Mastana organising committees giving it their all in a Bhangra-come-Rhythm'n'Bass dance (named the 'Mastana Masti Megamix'). The Megamix was received brilliantly by the crowd and rounded off an excellent evening which not only gave an audience of 500 people three hours of top class entertainment but also helped to raise in excess of £3000 for relief projects for those caught up in the devastation in Gujarat.
Mastana 2000 - Sunday 12th March 2000, Faculty of Music Concert Hall, West Road
West Road Music Hall. Theatre of Dreams. Few will forget 12th March 2000 (not least because it was Mauritian Independence Day). M2K as the day was later to be known, went down as the biggest Mastana to date, in terms of audience (all 500 seats sold out one week before the performance with a waiting list to match), performers (over 70 varying from Bollywood to Bharat Natyam, Urdu Poetry to Comedy Sketches) and in terms of money raised for charity (£1500). The CUHCS Committee would like to thank all the performers who took part as well as those backstage and helpers with the food, technical support and moral support. We hoped the audience enjoyed it. What more can we say? Get your tickets early this year! Prepare to be blasted - MastanaMMI is coming your way...
Mastana 1999 - March 1999, Peterhouse Theatre
Mastana, CUHCS's cultural explosion of dance and music, returned to Peterhouse Theatre last March, and an explosion is exactly what it was. Indeed, this year's Mastana was perhaps the best yet and the highlights ranged from the climaxproviding and very loud bhangra through to the quieter and more serene flute solo, not to mention a Dandiya dance and classical dances like Bharat Natyam and Kathak. The wonderful and soul-stirring entertainment enjoyed by a capacity audience further comprised a sarod recital, a tabla and sitar duet, bhajans and a medley of Bollywood tunes. However, words cannot ultimately do the show justice and one really had to be there in order to appreciate the unique experience and the efforts and hard work put in by so many different people. It should also be noted that all of the money raised from the show will once again be going to helping to provide education for under-privileged children in India. Last year we raised £600 for charity through Mastana.
Mastana 1998 - March 1998, Peterhouse Theatre
Mastana 1997 - Friday 7th March 1997, Old Library, Emmanuel College
