NEW DELHI: The Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) celebrated its 25th anniversary this week with a two-day film festival and musical soiree by two Northeastern rock bands at India Islamic Cultural Centre in the city.
Acclaimed filmmaker Jahnu Barua’s Ajeyo was selected to inaugurate the second edition of film festival, ‘Matter of Right(s), which showcased specially-curated and critically acclaimed Indian and international films, including documentaries, with a special focus on the Pacific Islands.
The highlight of the film fest was the screening of a documentary film by Discovery on Nelson Mandela, attended by representatives of South African High Commission and Prof. Vivek Kumar from Centre for Social Systems, JNU. Other films screened were on themes that CHRI works on such as Malati Rao’s Born Behind Bars on children born in prison, Utpal Borpujari’s Assamese feature film Ishu and Amitabh Parashar’s documentary The Eyes of Darkness, based on the Bhagalpur blinding.
In a befitting climax to the event, a live performance by the bands of Brahmaputra Raga Jazz enthralled the audiences with their harmonious rock-raga fusion.
The first band, Traffic Jam, opened the musical evening with Hotel California of Eagles, followed by Eye of the Tiger by American rock band Survivor.
But it was the blending of Indian ragas and traditional rhythm into Pink Floyd’s cult We Don’t Need No Education that made the audience stand up and break into a rapturous applause.
“It’s a disservice if you don’t stand to a rock band. It’s a disservice!” said one among the audience who was unable to contain his joy and excitement.
The stage was next taken over by the band Empirical Tribe from Shillong that belted out original numbers. The crowd might have never heard of their songs On the Toe or Ambition, but the energy and enthusiasm weren’t any less.
A couple of songs later, lead singer Gregory Fancon went full-throttle, running into the crowd while singing another original.
As the night fell, and the band was playing it last song of the day, a man in the audience broke into an impromptu jig, leaving everyone amused.