Dhwani performs at Kala Mandir. Picture by Bishwarup Dutta

It was a special show for a special audience. Vocal quartet Dhwani entertained a packed Kala Mandir for Teachers’ Day. Made up of teachers from schools across the city, the audience proved an enthusiastic and appreciative one.

The concert began with prayer songs — the kind you might hear at a morning assembly. Gurur brahma, Gurur vishnu, All Things Bright And Beautiful and Twameva mata cha pita twameva created an ambience akin to an assembly. Dhwani — the quartet of Navin Daga, Diti Das, Sarita Chandak and Sriram Subramaniyan — impressed with its repertoire of songs from around the world.

It was a fun gig. Dhwani sang songs in English, Polish and Arabic, among other tongues, which had gone on to ‘‘inspire” Bollywood hits . The band then asked the audience to identify the more familiar Hindi tracks. From old favourites like Dil tadap tadap ke, Dil deke dekho and Aao twist kare to recent chartbusters like Ya ali and Pal pal, Dhwani delivered the originals with style. Their audience was bang on as well: the teachers often identified the Bollywood equivalent even before the singers asked them to. “They are teachers after all and they will always be ahead of us,” laughed Navin. The concert ended with a homage to teachers with the Rabindrasangeet Mor sandhaye tumi sundara besh e eshechho and a modified version of To Sir With Love, renamed To Teachers With Love.

Schools that attended the show included Loreto, Birla High School, Don Bosco, Delhi Public School and St Xavier’s. “We had invited about 150 schools. This is something we wanted to do for a long time,” said Navin.