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 Natya Tarangini Festival of music and dance - Vijay Shanker e-mail: vijaydance@gmail.com Photos: Innee Singh January 28, 2025 New Delhi's premier Kuchipudi institution, Natya Tarangini, led by the veteran Kuchipudi exponents, Drs Raja, Radha and Kaushalya Reddy organised the three day Parampara Festival of music and dance, featuring top performers like Dr Raja Reddy, Radha Reddy and disciples in the Kuchipudi style, Mahesh Kale for Hindustani music, Guru Ratikant Mohapatra's ensemble for Odissi, Rakesh Chaurasia for flute, Dr Neena Prasad for Mohiniattam and the Tal Fry group for classical music. The festival was held at Delhi's Kamani auditorium from December 4th to 6th. Minister of Culture, Gajendra Singh Shekawat, inaugurated the festival and described India as the nectar of the east and further said on a lighter note that whenever the Devas would conduct any sacred Yagna, the Rakshasas would intervene and become a hindrance; similarly he would not like to hinder the progress of a beautiful programme of classical music and dance. He admired the outstanding and invaluable contribution of the Reddys in promoting and propagating classical dances on the international platform for decades. The Parampara series of programs is an annual program conducted every year. Over the years, several prominent performers have performed for this festival.  Natya Tarangini Kuchipudi ensemble The festival commenced with the brief appearance of Raja and Radha Reddy in Nrithasya Mahima that incorporated the significance of the Omkara mantara as propounded by Lord Shiva as the cosmic dancer and the Lord of creation, preservation and destruction. Ashtapadi "Sanchara" portrayed the inter relationship of Krishna, Radha and the Gopis, the dalliance, the moments of joy and happiness as Radha dances with Krishna and the varied emotions of love. The finale was a nritta number that included the rhythmic and intricate rhythmic patterns performed by twelve dancers on the rim of a brass plate. It was thrilling to watch Guru Kaushalya Reddy reciting the jathis and the rhythms executed on the mridangam with the dance of complex rhythm on the brass plate. The dancers who performed were Pernia Qureshi, Yashasvi Jindal, Gauri Taneja, Prakruti Prashant, Adiva Agarwal, Radhika Tandon, Yuktha Vaishnavi, Anika Bassi, Sulagni Suri, the only male dancer Harish, Aanya, Ashish Pratap Singh, Vyshnavi Chamarthi, Chandrika Sarkar, Sahira Singh, and Shambhavi. The commendable musicians included Devi Ravikant and Lavanya Sundaram on vocal, G Raghuraman on flute, Raghavendra Prasanth on violin, mridangam by Manohar Balatchandirane and lights by Sandeep Dutta.  Srjan ensemble The second day featured exquisite Odissi by the Srjan ensemble, choreographed by Guru Ratikant Mohapatra. The first number presented was Ardhanarishwara based on the composition of Adi Shankaracharya that incorporated the purusha and prakriti concept of the Lord. The right side of the Lord depicted the masculine and vibrant aspect and left side featured the feminine and graceful aspect. Chandrakauns Pallavi, an adaptation of pancham savari, was a fine exposition of varied movements inclusive of chauka and tribangis, forming a fine combination of music, melody and rhythm. The last number was Ta Na Tirena, a tribute to Lord Surya with the chants like Adityaya Namo Namah, Bhaskaraya Namo Namah. It was a rare spectacle to witness the radiant rays of the sun, well executed with powerful lighting by Debiprasad Mishra. On the whole, it was an immaculate performance by the talented team of dancers Rajashri Praharaj, Preetisha Mohapatra, Subashree Senapati, Madhabi Raut and male dancers G Sanjay and Raj Kumar Kar.  Dr. Neena Prasad The finale of the festival was the elegant Mohiniattam performance by Dr Neena Prasad and her talented team of dancers. The traditional invocatory number 'Cholketttu' formed a fine combination with the typical andolika movements which is the speciality of this lasya oriented style. The next number was the ashtapadi "Hari na mugdha" that portrayed the varied shades of love of Radha and Krishna. The last number was the Thillana, well performed by the dancers Vidya Pradeep, Dr Abha Prashanth, Aswathy Krishna, Divya Warrier, Dr Juni Menon and Vishnu Priya Marar. The wonderful musicians were Changanasseri Madhavan Namboodiri on vocal, Ramesh Babu on mridangam, VSK Annadurai on violin, Kalamandalam Sreekumar on edakka and nattuvangam by Dr Neena Prasad and Aswathy Krishna. On the whole, it was an enthralling festival.  Vijay Shankar is a Kuchipudi and Kathakali exponent, teacher, bilingual journalist, arts critic and actor. |
