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 Atharvotsav 2025 by ASOFA, Mumbai - Chandra Anand e-mail: chandra6267@yahoo.co.in Photos courtesy: ASOFA June 15, 2025 Atharvotsav 2025, in its 10th edition, was a festival to celebrate all the Indian classical dances to commemorate the International Dance Day. The objective of this festival was to identify artistes who "have great reverence to the art form they were following" and honor them with "Nritya Samvardhini" or "Nritya Samvardhak", and "Nritya Nipun" and "Nritya Sadhak" awards based on their contribution to the art form. The festival was held over two days by Atharva School of Fine Arts (ASOFA), with its artistic director Shamal Pawar at the helm of all happenings. On day one, 19th April 2025, they got accomplished teachers to use their platform to showcase their and their students' talent and on the 2nd day, 29th April 2025, the International Dance Day, the senior gurus and solo performers, took part and raised the status of the festival. Artistes from all over India and abroad took part in the festival. Day 1 Students of Anandalahari School of Perfoming Arts, Mumbai, founded by Anand and Jayalakshmi, performed "Prabho Ganapate", a bhajan glorifying Ganesha's form and his attributes and graces were displayed with beautiful poses and movements of the elephant god. In the tana varnam (Abhogi, adi) "Evari bodhana" each dancer performed a sanchari, and the musicality of the Carnatic music was well projected in the swara and nritta portions of the varnam. The artistes were Bharat, Poojanandhini, Kajolini Palaniswamy, Aarish Muralidharan, Suravi Handel, Tejasvi Soundararajan, Sanketh Ambedkar, and Varshalakshmi Pratap.  Deepam Odissi Academy Guru Deepak Roy, founder of Deepam Odissi Academy, Muscat and Durgapur, West Bengal, presented his students Anindita Biswas, Archita Banerjee Mazumdar, and Reena Mishra Sinha. They performed "Shanti mantra" composed by Ravi Shankar with grace and poise. Krishna leelas were expressively brought out through the song "Kanhi gole murali phunka". In "Vande mataram," lyrical expression and precision in rhythm were delineated alternatively, beautifully bringing out the Odissi idiom. Dr. Lata Surendra's institution, Anjali Bharatanatyam Research Trust, Mumbai, presented a traditional varnam "Bhare Raguvamshachandrane vaa" (Raagamalika, adi) written and choreographed by Dr. Lata Surendra. The music was composed by NN Sivaprasad. This was on Lord Rama where his stories were delineated as sancharis and in the jathis elaborate korvai teermanams were performed with rhythmic precision by Ananya Mohan Iyer, Megha Mukesh Pillai, and Lavanyakshi Yashodhar Uchil. Tiny tots of the dance school were given chance to perform with the seniors. They danced with great coordination. Tanaya Mulye, artistic director of Kathak school Shivagauri Nrityalaya, along with her students Mrinal Shikhare, Srushti Shevade, Anuja Padhye and Juili Athale gave a simple and cute performance of nritta and nritya combined in equal proportions. The students presented tatkaar, padhant piece, chakri and kavit in jhaptaal, and a lively sargam. Lot of variety in footwork, hand movements and formations were seen. Tanaya performed a solo "Shiva chaturang" choreographed by Tejaswini Sathe. Padartha bhava glorifying Shiva and his attributes and seeking his blessing to cross the bhavasagar was delineated well.  Padmarang Nritya Academy Guru Shweta Devendra, founder and director of Padmarang Nritya Academy, Bhopal, presented her students Malvika Pathak, Mohinee Yadav, Pupul Bhatnagar on this propitious platform. They performed pushpanjali (Nattai, adi), keertanam "Natanam aadinar" (Vasanta, Kanda Ata) and Tillana (Natabhairavi, adi). All three items were danced well. The choreographies of the items had similar approach with a lot of combinations of adavus, intermingling between them, at times all doing movements differently for the same music piece, and thus engaging the audience. The sahityam of this tillana was in praise of Rukmini Devi Arundale, the founder of Kalakshetra. The choreography and performance would surely have made Rukmini Devi happy and proud of the team. Excellent performance by seven equally sound and strong dancers of Siddhi Nrityakala Mandir, Mumbai, a Kathak institution founded by Guru Shraddha Bhide. They performed Kali Dhrupad, a dynamic and powerful composition, which portrayed the fierce energy of Goddess Kali in her battle against Raktabeej. Commencing with description of her attributes, graces and ferociousness were delineated, to a shloka interspersed with deftly performed nritta pieces. The story of fight between Kali and Raktabeej was performed to the song "Jagadamba Kali". The raw energy that got exuded during the fight, supported with flashing blue light, was well projected. The red and black costumes and the palm loaded with red color was very effective in the portrayal of Kali. The artists presented by the school were Divya Saraf, Deepa Joshi, Aishwarya Chodnekar, Archita Chheda, Purva Patil, Pragati Vasishtha, and Shravani Kanekare.  Roopak Kalasadan Guru Manasi Vaze, the founder director of Roopak Kalasadan, Pune, brought her talented team of students - Mayuri Gokulkar, Sai Deshpande, Prajakta Nevaskar, Ketaki Ghaisas, Samruddhi Joshi, Mukta Deshpande and Shreya Velankar to present Bharatanatyam on this promising stage. Anjaneya Stuti was performed with great devotion extolling the greatness of Lord Hanuman, requesting him to bestow his blessings on them, with apt poses and padartha bhava. Tillana (Shankarabharanam, adi) had nice choreography. The first avartanam was used to set the tisragati rhythm in minds of the audience. Innovative choreography with the mei adavu elements was showcased. The sahitya of the Tillana was in praise of Lord Brihadeesha. Marathi abhang "Vaikuntanayaka" by Sant Vitha Maharaj was performed glorifying him as an avatar of Lord Krishna, suggestively depicting Krishna leelas. Guru Shrikala Bedekar Joshi, founder director of Kalashree Kathak Institute, Panvel, performed Krishna Vandana gracefully to the verse "Ullendivara kanti bindu vandanam". Along with her students, nritta pieces like thaat, aamad, tode, tukde, paran, tihai and tatkaar were done to showcase Taal Ang in taal Rupak. Hori, festival of colours, according to Kathak's tradition was performed. Holi was played with Natnagar and the happiness in the environment all singing and dancing along with the bansuri music was expressed in padartha bhava with alongside display of pure Kathak. The artistes performing were Guru Shrikala Bedekar Joshi, with her students Mrunmayee Warekar, Radha Rasam, Mahati Gadkari, Rajashri Revankar, and Sanvi Thakur.  Kalavaaridhi Institute Srishti and Sri Lakshmi, students of Kalavaaridhi Institute of Fine Arts, Bangalore, performed Bharatanatyam in chaste Kalakshetra bani. "Vidai midil avani vanda", a kriti choreographed by Rukmini Devi Arundale which describes the procession of Lord Shiva on his vahana Nandi was performed with aplomb. Keertanam, "Pahimam Shri Rajarajeshwari", celebrated the simhavahini goddess as one who bestowed blessings on all her devotees, and as the slayer of demons Chanda, Munda, Mahisha. The padartha bhava was very expressive and stories were well enacted. Abhang, "Bolava Vittala Pahava Vittala", celebrating the varkari bhakti, in praise of Lord Vittala of Pandharpur was performed with devotion.  Karnal Vidyalaya Karnal Vidyalaya, Karjat, the brainchild of Namrata Sharma, showcased folk dance by tribal descent. She started a small fun activity workshop with the tribal and underprivileged students in 2019 feeling the need of strong foundation and skill based education for the tribal children of Savale Gaon, Karjat. They presented Aghori nritya choreographed by Nilesh Rajput. The young enthusiastically performed the item with costumes and props. They were truly excited at this opportunity to visit Mumbai and dance on this encouraging stage with a houseful audience. The item was on Lord Shiva glorifying him as an ascetic and who bestowed choicest boons.  Nrithyopaasana Nrithyopaasana School of Classical Dance, Mumbai, was established by Guru Manjula Manoj, who along with her students Samhita KR, Aashi Joshi, Nandini Nair, Deepika Yadav, J. Deya, Ayushi Kenia and Karuna Netrekar, performed Natyanjali (Ragamalika, Talamalika), choreographed in pancha nadai displaying an innovative format in the order of solkattu, verse, swara piece and a pose at end of each piece. The padartha bhava in praise of gods, was done expressively and nritta done were well suited to the sangfroid of the lyrics. A keertanam written by Swati Thirunal Maharaja in Malayalam language, "Jalaja bandu vumiha" (Suruti, misrachapu), describing a virahotkanditaha nayika, expressing with intensity yearning for the company of Lord Padmanabha, was performed to recorded sopanam music in dance drama format by Manjula with two of her senior disciples.  Baikali Association Guru Purbita Mukherjee, a Manipuri dance exponent, runs her own institution Baikali Association in both Mumbai and Kolkata. Mangalacharan performed was an invocation to Lord Krishna choreographed by Guru Bipin Singh and sung by Draupadi Devi. Mandila nartan, a dance playing cymbals, in lasya style depicting Radha and Krishna, normally performed at the Julan yatra in Manipur was performed. And, Prabhanda nartan which had both tandav and lasya elements incorporated in it was performed, wherein the choreography was by Guru Bipin Singh and sung by Guru Kalavati Devi. The dance presentation was captivating with artistes light on their feet jumping, turning, and twirling gracefully and the subtle wrist movements while flicking the cymbal cloths was very pretty for the eyes. They had a peaceful expression on their faces which is the mark of the art form being totally meditative and devotional in its conception. The artists were Purbita Mukherjee, Sudipa Ray, Digangana Chowdhury and Arpita Roy Dutta.  Gitanjali Guru Geetha Vijayshankar, artistic director of Gitanjali, Mumbai, teaches Mohiniattam. Her students performed padam "Madhava mamava deva" (Neelambari, adi), delineating dramatically the dice game and how Lord Krishna came to the rescue of Draupadi in her time of distress. Shivapanchakshara Stotram, (Ragamalika, adi) composed by Adi Shankaracharya, glorifying Lord Shiva through the five sacred syllables—Na, Ma, Shi, Va, Ya —symbolizing the basic elements (pancha bhutas) of earth, fire, water, ether and air, was performed with devotion in a slow and dignified manner. Performing artistes were Janaki Pillai, Poornasree Nair, Veda Raghupalan, Annika Tandon, Sindhu Sreekumar, Usha Nair, Rishika Pillai, Lakshmi Menon, Subha Pramod, and Sunitha K Das. Amruta Todankar, the founder and director of 'Kathak Shades - The School of Kathak', along with her students Gargi Kadam, Amrita Chaudhari and Shruti Abhyankar presented Krishna Vandana, a graceful invocation to Lord Krishna, with the shloka Kasturi tilakam; moved on to taal ang in teental where their deft footwork performed tabaleka toda, farmayeshi paran ginti, gatnikas, and intricate tatkaar, followed by Tarana emphasizing pure dance with fluid movements and energetic chakkars. They concluded with expressive storytelling, depicting a devotee's admiration of Krishna with the song "Savara Giridhara mohe man bhanaye". On the whole, a lively presentation of Kathak dance form was enjoyed.  Soundarya Natya Kalalaya Soundarya Natya Kalalaya Foundation, Mumbai, is headed by Guru Padmini Radhakrishnan had her students Aakruti Anantharaman, Mahalakshmi Anandakrishnan, Srujanya Jayesh, and Anushree Anantharaman presented 'Shivarpanam', a dance drama, wherein they effectively enacted many stories of Lord Shiva. Using proper adavus, poses and gestures, they delineated how the various icons moon, Ganga, his matted hair and snake he wore gave him his majestic look; enacted the story of Sati immolating herself in the yagna of her father Daksha, the incensed tandav dance done by Shiva as an aftermath and also how he very easily subdued the elephant, tiger, snake and the demon Muyalagan. The music had a very thrilling and dramatic effect. Guru Manasi Joshi, artistic director of Antarnaad Kathak Nrutyalay, Navi Mumbai, and her students performed Durga stuti extolling her attributes and graces. They performed the Chaturang (Raag Malhar), wherein people enjoying rains were shown in various ways. Along with the natural experience of rain they brought its ritualistic experience alive. In abhang "Maaze maher Pandhari", they delineated the story of Pundalika in a simple and sweet way. The artistes were Riya Mukesh Patil, Samriddhi Methi, Akshara Methi, Apurva Uday Ghadigaonkar, Drushti Pramod Mule, Aarya Shailesh Mane, Mrinal Rahul Hiremath and Anuja Pawar.  Ishavasya Gurukulam Ishavasya Gurukulam, Pune, founded by Dr. Neelima Deshpande, presented 'Keshava re - A Divine Journey through Krishna's Essence', a vibrant Kathak production that captured the enchanting playfulness of Krishna leelas and showed Radha Rani, who playfully adorns herself as Krishna, leaving the Gopis bewildered as they find themselves amidst two Krishnas, until Radha finally reveals her true self. The performance concludes with an ecstatic note, symbolizing the eternal bond between Krishna, Radha, and the souls devoted to them. Alongside the effective narrative expression, the rendition of the pure Kathak was beautifully incorporated to give a wholesome look to the production. The performing artistes were Dr Neelima Deshpande, Tanmayee Prabhune, Samrudhi Agashe, Srushti Deshpande and Rudrani Raut.  Ved Institute of Performing Arts Ved Institute of Performing Arts, Mumbai, is a Kathak institution headed by Guru Aditi Yadav. The performing artistes in thematic dance presentation of 'Shiva' were Aditi Yadav, Madhu Kamble, Khushi Gala and Nyana Soningra. They commenced their presentation with Shiva Panchakshara stotram, followed by Purandaradasa keertanam and ended with Tarana. The verses were interspersed with pure dance and padartha bhava expressed well. They comfortably presented Kathak nritya to a keertanam "Chandra chuda" to a recorded version of band music. Tarana was lively with chakradaars, deft footwork and fluid body movements. Day 2 Mr. Javier Manuel Paulinich, Ambassador of Peru in India, graced the occasion as the chief guest of the Atharvotsav 2025 festival held on 29th April 2025, at Mysore Association, Mumbai. Chandramukhi Muller, Switzerland, a student of Guru Pratap Narayan Behra and Guru Kunjalata Mishra presented Odissi. Shankarabharanam Pallavi was performed neatly bringing out the lyrical beauty and precision of Odissi. The abhinaya item "Sangini re chaha" a devotional bhajan composed by Vanamali Das, portrayed a sakhi describing Krishna to her friend— as the flute bearer, the one adorned with the peacock feathers and a cupid himself. It was an expressive rendition of the playful charm of Lord Krishna, but could have been more intense.  Chandramukhi Muller  Sailakshmi Nair Sailakshmi Nair, disciple of Guru Geetha Vijayshankar, performed "Hey maharathe Karna" depicting the emotional moment when Kunti devi revealed to Karna that he is her firstborn - son of Surya Deva, the sun God - the eldest of the Pandavas. The piece highlights Karna's struggles with the truth and Kunti's inner conflict, her plea for peace. "Sreeman Narayana" (Bouli, adi) a keertanam praising Lord Vishnu, describing the omnipresent form of the Lord, in which the story of Narasimha avatar was delineated. The characterisation whether of Karna, Kunti, Hiranayakahsipu, Prahlad or Lord Narasimha was well portrayed. Manasi Deshpande is a senior disciple of Guru Shama Bhate. The Kathak presentation began with an invocation to Lord Ganesha, followed by a crisp exploration of Teentaal featuring thaat, aamad, paran, and tihai. The performance concluded with a devotional bhajan composed by the legendary Pt. Jitendra Abhisheki. Centered on the emotional turmoil in Gokul after Lord Krishna's departure to Dwarka, the piece beautifully portrayed the villagers' deep longing for Krishna capturing the essence of spiritual connection and devotion. The presentation was flawless and shone with high technical standards.  Manasi Deshpande  Ananga Manjari Malatesta Gonzalez Ananga Manjari Malatesta Gonzalez, student of Guru Shankar Kandaswamy and Dr. Janaki Rangarajan, presented "Ardhanareeshwaram" (Kumudakriya, rupakam) a composition of Muthuswami Dikshitar showcasing the union of Shiva and Parvati as Ardhanareeshwara, and the attributes of this form. Tillana (Garudadhwani, adi) composed by Dr Balamuralikrishna described Shiva's cosmic dance, resonating as the dance of creation itself. The choreographies were by Dr. Janaki Rangarajan. The presentation was immaculate, showing the artiste's interest and reverence to the art form. The artiste also was overwhelmed that her performance was watched by a dignitary from her country who had great interests in arts and culture.  Shamal, Samidha, Manori & Vidya Varnam "Naan undan adimai" (Natakuranji, adi) was presented by Shamal, Samidha, Vidya and Manori, disciples of senior Guru SP Srinivasan of Mumbai. The varnam was choreographed by SP Srinivasan. Bharatanatyam was showcased in its original form, forceful yet graceful and bringing calm to the minds. The jathis performed were superb and the four sancharis performed for the lyrical lines were description of the attributes of Lord Shiva, the story of Markandeya, a scene from Nandanar charitam, and description of Shiva's alluring looks while performing Ananda Tandavam. This way they honored their Guru SP Srinivasan at the Atharvotsav festival. Esha Mukherjee, a disciple of gurus Ratikant Mohapatra and Rajashri Praharaj, performed "Ahe nila saila" (Mishra Arabi, taal Tripata) a devotional piece about Bhakta Salabega, a 17th century Muslim poet, an ardent devotee of Lord Jagannath. In this song, Salebega from outside the temple, hailed the lord as "Hey Blue Lord", and requested the lord to relieve him of his physical pain and free him from the burden of existence. He then puts forward examples of Gajendra the elephant king, Draupadi and Prahlada who were saved by him. Music composition was by Pandit Bhubaneswar Mishra and dance choreography was by Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra. With aplomb, Esha did great justice to the choreography and brought forth the brief narrative descriptions along with the sculpturesque and picturesque dimensions of the choreography alive and was in sync with rhythm up to the last beat.  Esha Mukherjee  Ankita Naik Ankita Naik who presented Yakshagana, is under the tutelage of Guru Gopal Ganiga Haranjalu. The presentation of The Yakshagana Nritya was from Panchajanya Prasanga (Drama). Ankita Naik played the character of Krishna where he expresses his feelings for Asike comparing her to the enchantress Mohini. She presented the song "Yaar di Mohini" wherein Krishna appreciates the beauty of Asike to Mohini the enchantress and confesses how he has fallen in love with her and is consumed by his desire for her. The lyrics were interspersed with nritta pieces. The costumes, the rustic folk music and the newness of the form enraptured the audience attention with awe. It is Ankita Naik's performances of short solo dance presentations of Yakshagana form that has attracted the attention of organisers of the mainstream cultural events. Saranya Murali is an accomplished Kuchipudi dancer from Thrissur, Kerala, under the guidance of Rachana Narayanankutty. She began with an invocation to Lord Krishna describing his adornments and attributes. Progressing to the song "Maragada mani maya chela" she depicted Krishna's friendship and compassion to Sudama with appropriate dramatic actions and went on to display the tarangam feature of the Kuchipudi art form with rhythmic precision.  Saranya Murali  Ayana Perla Ayana Perla, student of Guru Sharadamani Shekhar, presented the kriti "Natana poojai" (Hamsadhwani, rupakam), composition by Suddhaananda Bharati, which is an offering through dance to Lord Nataraja, where when expressions overwhelm the sound of the instruments one dances towards the path of enlightenment. It has been choreographed by Priyadarsini Govind. Padam "Adum varai avar adattum" (Huseini, rupakam) written by Oothukkadu Venkatasubbaiyer, is where the proud nayika is in conversation with her sakhi. The nayika's pride and longing for Krishna shone through, as she wishes for Krishna to seek her out. A ninda stuti where Krishna's flute music and nritta danced on Kaliya the serpent's head is mentioned with sarcasm. The choreography was by Dr. Janaki Rangarajan. Ayana's talent for Bharatanatyam is definitely in full blossom.  ASOFA students in Bharatanatyam  ASOFA students in Kathak The ASOFA students also took part in this mega festival opportunity. In the former part of the day's event, the students of Bharatanatyam wing presented a Bharatanatyam margam. And in later part of the day's event, students of Kathak Wing presented taal ang in Teen Taal followed by Tarana in Teen Taal choreographed by Guru Saswati Sen. Surely, soon the students who achieve accolades and pursue the art with reverence will get a chance to perform in the main event section and make their own school ASOFA proud.  Chandra Anand is a Bharatanatyam artiste and teacher. She has an MA in Bharatanatyam from Tilak Maharashtra Vidyapeeth, and her series on 'Education in spiritual values through Bharatanatyam' is featured in narthaki.com. |
