Kuchipudi Parampara Natya Utsav
- Naveena
e-mail: naveena_b_2002@yahoo.co.in
Pics courtesy: S. Raguraam

November 21, 2015

The Kuchipudi Parampara Foundation, a non-profit organisation founded by Bengaluru-based entrepreneur-dancer Deepa Sashindran, celebrated the second edition of its Kuchipudi Parampara Natya Utsav on 30th October 2015, at the popular Seva Sadan Auditorium. The event was well attended and served as a good conglomeration of exponents of Kuchipudi and Bharatanatyam, giving an opportunity for budding practitioners of the art forms to meet established luminaries.


Honouring of Guru Vedantam Radheshyam

Honouring of Praveen Kumar

Interestingly, the festival honoured two exponents from diverse backgrounds - Vedantam Radheshyam, veteran exponent from the Kuchipudi tradition and Bharatanatyam dancer P. Praveen Kumar, currently training under Prof. C.V. Chandrasekhar. The chief guests for the occasion were Lakshmi Mani, Kuchipudi and Bharatanatyam exponent from Chennai, and Lalitha Srinivasan, respected Bharatanatyam guru of Bengaluru.


Kuchipudi duet by Rekha and Deepa
Lakshmi Mani, in her thought provoking address, stressed upon the importance of the Guru and the need for students to stay ever devoted to him/her, irrespective of the stature they gain. Lalitha Srinivasan remarked upon the cosmopolitan nature of Bengaluru in welcoming all forms of classical dance. Radheshyam and Praveen Kumar expressed their gratitude for the encouragement given by the Kuchipudi Parampara Foundation by way of the honour.

The event also featured three brief Kuchipudi recitals by blossoming artistes - Katragadda Himansee (Warangal), Vempati Priyanka (Chennai) and the duet presentation of Deepa Sashindran and Rekha Satish, apart from the Bharatanatyam presentation by Praveen Kumar. All the recitals succeeded to a large extent, in highlighting the salient features of the respective art forms.

H.N. Suresh of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Bengaluru and scholar Shatavadhani Ganesh were among those who graced the occasion. The program was emceed by young dancers Sujay Shanbag and Srividya Angara. The Kuchipudi Parampara Natya Utsav is surely a welcome addition to the cultural calendar of classical dance enthusiasts. With some fine tuning of hiccups, the festival is sure to soar higher.

Naveena is an arts writer, translator, singer, quizzer and compere. Proficient in several languages including Sanskrit, she is sought after by musicians & dancers for better understanding and interpretation of lyrics for their theses and performances.