Kuchipudi Suma Maala 2: A continuing legacy
- Padma B Raju
e-mail: paddsm@yahoo.com

June 16, 2010

Nritya Madhavi School of Dance in Edison, NJ, celebrated its second annual event Kuchipudi Suma Maala 2, in the North Brunswick High School Auditorium on Sunday, May 9, 2010. The program was organized in 3 distinct parts: the first part comprised individual choreographies of Divya Yeluri, the Founder and Artistic Director of Nritya Madhavi; the second part dealt with aspects of Krishna Tatvam (stories describing the glory and magnificence of Lord Krishna); and the third part unravelled the divine essence of Shiva Tatvam (themes depicting the omniscience and omnipotence of Lord Shiva).

All the 70 students of Nritya Madhavi (ages ranging from 5 - 40) performed with competence and ease. Divya Yeluri's choreography of "Bho Shambho" in Revathi depicting episodes of Gangavataranam, Akshaya Lingam and HalaHala Dharana were well crafted with complex foot work, movements and poses. Similarly, the adaptation in choreography in the numbers "Kulukaga Naduvaro" and "Brindavana Nilaye," the palanquin movements in Kulukaga and the enaction of the scenes of Brindavana were striking.
The Managing Director of Nritya Madhavi, Venu Yeluri, announced two scholarships in memory of his father Late Rama Das Yeluri to deserving students of dance. The cash awards of $300 and $200 were given to Sailaja Medicherla and Rahul Reddy for their passion for learning in the senior and intermediate levels. Venu Yeluri also announced that from this year, there will be awards given to artistes and musicians who excel in their fields of art.

This year, Prakash Rao was awarded the title of Vayidya Ratna and Dr. Bhavani Prakash was given the title of Sangeetha Soujanya. They said that it is very important to instill and uphold the devotion and dedication for Indian classical arts and our Indian traditional values among parents and children living in the USA. They commended Nritya Madhavi School of Dance for doing a wonderful job to uplift cultural spirit and values in a foreign land.

Chief Guest of the program, Assembly man Upendra Chivukula, congratulated the performances of all the participants. He commented on the recent H1B problems that Indians have been facing and said that all our Indian business communities should stay together and help each other and support the current Govt. policy of President Obama to avoid these immigration and other problems that minority communities face. The surprise guest of the evening was the well known music composer and director, RP Patnaik, who rendered a couple of melodies to enthrall the audience.

Divya Yeluri attributed the success of her dance school to the blessings of her spiritual Guru, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, her Kuchipudi dance gurus (Dr.Vempati Chinna Satyam and Bala Kondala Rao) and all her well wishers. Trophies/mementos were given to all students and volunteers who helped in the meticulous organization of the event.