Asraya Nitai , Amy Wang

Asraya Nitai, one of the organisers, said that the fund raising performance of Rasas of Vrindavan depicted the pastimes of Lord Krishna, his consort Radharani, and the gopis of Vrindavan, and involved songs, dance and musical instruments. Expert musicians on harmonium, tabla and tanpura accompanied the feature singers and violinist.

Basavi Mukherjee from Calcutta, India, a highly trained classical singer with a masters degree in Hindustani music, gave a performance rarely seen in this hemisphere. She used her beautiful voice to create mood and emotion in the listeners. The tanpura an ethereal sounding instrument was played by Kutu Mukherjee, and Jayant Bhalodkar on harmonium added to the mystical atmosphere.

Arpita Chanda, an award winning artist from Auckland, in a lighter mood, sang devotional songs made popular by Hindi movies. A light hearted and entertaining competition between the violinist, Chintamani Rath and tabla player, Basanth Mahdur followed, which delighted the audience and they begged for more. Improvisation is a hallmark of Indian classical violin Mr Rath said.

An accomplished classical violinist with a doctorate in Indian classical music, Mr Rath said he is just as comfortable with Western classical music. Mr Rath, originally from India, now lives in Tauranga. His adversary on the tabla , Mr Mahdur, is a well known performer and tabla teacher from Auckland.

The finale was a colourful and well received dance item. by the Nataraj School of Dance from Wellington. The teacher and choreographer of the school is Prabhavathi Ravi.

At the request of the camera crew of Asia Down Under, a harinama (chanting in the streets) was performed in Queen Street with Kalasamvara leading, and many devotees and friends joined in.

The programme Asia Down Under was screened on Sunday, March 18. Rohita, the treasurer says that an exact profit figure is not yet available, but estimates that around $3000 was raised