IMPHAL, November 25: Fans of the Shillong Chamber Choir were left disappointed as the gates of the Bheigachandra Open Air Theatre closed early to the public yesterday.
Considered one of the top multi-genre choir group of India, the team consisting of 11 male and female vocals combined enthralled the bleak crowd mainly consisting of VIPs at the front rows.
Fans coming from other districts were left out of the show and opined that BOAT venue is too small for the musical shows.
In an interaction with the IFP at Classic Grande, William, male lead vocal of the Choir said that they have been warmly received and the hospitality extended has been impeccable. “One person who didn’t know us kindly let us have our dinner first when he was ahead in the buffet line, he said that we were the guests of the State and have our meal first.”
“We wanted to touch the hearts of the people, we have practiced to the extent of singing six songs in the local dialect by practicing just a day ahead before the show,” he said. It may be mentioned that six songs inclusive of Sanaleipak Manipur and Hingminnashi Eikhoi were sung by the choir. They said that they learnt the music by writing the vocal tones in staff notations just a day ahead.
The rest of the Choir members also mentioned in unison that their trip was very eventful, the sound, lights and equipments were superb and they had a very comfortable time on stage.
Donna, female vocals of the Choir said that the venue was a bit too small and was saddened to hear that hundreds of fans had been left out from witnessing their show. “We saw that there were only VIP seats in the front rows, they could have been seated aside separately, and the public could have a more fulfilling time by being closer to the performance.” She added that the venue was too small to accommodate big shows. It was witnessed from their performance that the male lead vocals, William had constantly run up the stairs of the amphitheatre to interact with the fans.
Sources mentioned that a top ranking police officer had closed the BOAT gates prematurely and there had been a slight disagreement with the organizers of the musical show and the police authority. Many fans coming from Ukhrul, Churachandpur and Senapati were left disgruntled as they had travelled all the way to witness the Choir. Johnson, a fan said “The cultural show seems mostly for the VIPs only, the public is left high and dry, the venue of the musical and cultural shows should be shifted to another larger venue,” he said. It may be mentioned that the Hornbill festival of Nagaland hosts the musical bands at another larger venue to accommodate the fans while the main venue displays the heritage sites and other stalls, this ensures that there is no overcrowding at the main venue and leaves the fans of the music bands satisfied also.
The attendance of visitors yesterday at the venue of the Sangai festival apparently was the highest since it began. The crow puller arguably was the Shillong chamber choir group.
While the main venue was mayhem of congestion of people, many more were seen in queue lined up till the forest office Sanjenthong. The overcrowding coupled with the dust it produced, gave hard time for the visitors to breath.
It nearly became impossible to slip through the crowd without coming into contact with other visitors.
Getting out of the venue became more difficult than getting in the venue as the venue.
