Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baaje

Dance guru Mangal trains Neela for a competition, pairing her with his son Giridhar, but when they fall in love and neglect their routine, Mangal plans to replace her. Dancer maestro Mangal Maharaj wants his son, Girdhar, who is a dancer par excellence, to enter the once-in-ten-years Nateshwar Utsav dance competition, win it, and be crowned the Bharat Natraj. While Girdhar can do a solo dance number, he is also required to dance the Shiv-Parvati Tandav dance with a female partner. Mangal Maharaj would like Roopkala to be his partner, but ends up being disappointed with her. Now with only a year left for the Utsav, he chances upon talented dancer and singer, Neeladevi, and recruits her. He subjects her to strenuous training and he is pleased with her performance. Then he finds out that Girdhar and Neela have fallen in love with each other, and their involvement is interfering with their performance. Unhappy with Neeladevi, he dismisses her, and sets forth to look for another dancer. The question remains: Will he be able to find another one, train her, and make her compete just in time for the Utsav, or will he lose this opportunity altogether and wait for another 10 years? —rAjOo (gunwanti@hotmail.com)