Regatta Natya Sangeetholsavam 2025: A Bharatanatyam showcase

- Dr. Hareesh N. Nampoothiri
e-mail: haree@newnmedia.in
Photos: Haree Fotografie

October 4, 2025

Regatta Natya Sangeetha Kendra, a premier classical dance and music institute in Kerala's capital city, celebrated its 53rd anniversary with the 2025 edition of 'Natya Sangeetholsavam'. This year's festival focused exclusively on Bharatanatyam, with invited performances featured on the final three evenings.

A remarkable fusion

Upanisha Kannan and Shabin Bright

The third day of the festival featured the first of the invited performances, a Bharatanatyam duet by Upanisha Kannan and Shabin Bright. The performers commenced with a dynamic mallari, an invocatory piece. This interpretation exuded a vibrant, agile stage presence, echoing the devotional fervor inspired by the Tirumurai literature. They executed it with remarkable ease, delivering movements without undue hurry and concluding neatly with poised postures as the item advanced.

Following this, the duo offered "Mahadeva Shivasambho..." in raga Revati, a composition by Tanjore Sankara Iyer. This keertanam was especially notable for the taming of Ganga sequence, where they deftly transitioned the choreography to express Shiva's control over the fierce river.

These initial choices proved appropriate for the audience, a sentiment further reinforced by the two subsequent solo items. Upanisha delivered the padam "Kandanal muthalai..." with soulfulness, while Shabin captivated the audience in a keertanam dedicated to Guruvayoorappa, establishing a strong rapport. Concluding the recital, the dancers reunited for a lively thillana, a vivid finale that beautifully highlighted their cohesive chemistry and synergy.

A recital in transition

Ratheesh Babu & Shweta Nayak

Ratheesh Babu, accompanied by his disciples Shweta Nayak and M.T. Mrinmayee, presented a sequence of four pieces on the subsequent day. The performance commenced with an invocation to Lord Ganesha, the familiar Ganapathi Thalam rendered in raga Arabhi and set in talamalika. While her movements were technically sound, Mrinmayee's stage presence could have been more spirited; she exhibited a certain stiffness in the presentation that detracted from the overall vibrancy.

Ratheesh Babu then joined Shweta for the meditative Shiva stotram, "Nagendra haraya...", a duet marked by visually arresting poses. The in-between postures were certainly striking. However, the choreography would have benefited from a tighter but fluid execution and more confident shifts into static forms.

Mrinmayee

The program continued with Mrinmayee's solo rendition of "Ka va va...", a soulful Papanasam Sivan composition in praise of Lord Muruga. While her efforts were sincere, the evening leaned too heavily on her solo pieces. Structurally, the program placed disproportionate weight on her, which may have exceeded her current stage of readiness. A more balanced approach could have enhanced the overall impression.

Finally, the performance concluded with all three artistes presenting the Swathi Thirunal thillana in raga Dhanasree - a familiar and spirited finale that effectively rounded off the evening.

Restrictive, but still elegant

Rakesh KP

Kalakshetra's Rakesh K.P. presented two pieces in his solo recital on the concluding day of the festival. Rakesh began with the celebrated Tanjore Quartet varnam, "Mohalagiri konden...", set in raga Todi and adi tala. In this piece, the heroine, consumed by longing, pleads with Mannargudi Rajagopala not to remain indifferent to her pain. Rakesh was clearly in his element during both the nritta (pure dance) sequences and the emotive content. His dance sequences were crisp, and his emotive delivery conveyed longing with restraint and clarity.

However, during the emotive portions, the recorded track proved to be a significant restriction. The accompanying percussion, in particular, seemed rigidly tied to the music rather than complementing the improvisational narrative expansions. This limitation became even more apparent in the Ashtapadi that followed. Putting this logistics aside, "Kisalaya sayanatale...", the 23rd Ashtapadi, served as a testament to the dancer's finesse in abhinaya. Through restrained, finely calibrated expression, he embodied the 'less is more' idiom, drawing out emotional depth with quiet precision.

P Ramadevi receiving the award

The 2025 edition of Regatta Natya Sangeetholsavam was held from September 13 to 17 at the AKG Centre Hall in Thiruvananthapuram. The festival was inaugurated by Kalakshetra Nirmala Nagarajan, a distinguished Bharatanatyam exponent and choreographer whose decades-long contribution to the art form has shaped generations of dancers. The festival also conferred the Regatta Natya Sangeetholsavam Lifetime Achievement Award upon P. Ramadevi, the renowned Kuchipudi exponent known for her pioneering work in popularizing the dance form. Her legacy as a performer, teacher, and cultural ambassador was celebrated with warmth and admiration, marking a significant highlight of the festival's closing ceremony.

Dr. Hareesh N. Nampoothiri is a design and media consultant, author, photographer, director, and art enthusiast with a PhD in Computer Science. He founded NEWNMEDIA and Haree Fotografie, focusing on dance productions and photography, and also launched Artograph, a bi-monthly e-magazine dedicated to classical arts. He regularly writes about performing arts, has done several video productions, and has held photo exhibitions.