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 Natyanjali: Decades of innumerable performances- Vijay Shankere-mail: vijaydance@gmail.com April 26, 2026 Chidambaram Natyanjali Trust conducted its 45th Natyanjali festival from February 13 to 17 at Rajah Sir Annamalai Chettiar Trust premises, South Car Street, Chidambaram. From its inception in 1981, Natyanjali festival of dance at Chidambaram is known for its serenity and uniqueness of the devotion of the dancers, dedicating their Natya as 'Anjali' (offering) and worship to the Lord of Dance - Nataraja. The five day festival attracted the participation of dancers from India and overseas in various classical dance styles. Over the years, several top dancers like Dr Padma Subrahmanyam, Chitra Visweswaran, Sudharani Raghupathy have all performed at this prestigious venue. Aspiring young classical dancers look forward to performing in this festival, which has already completed its forty five years of innumerable performances. Earlier, the festival used to be conducted inside the temple premises but lately it is being conducted at the Chettiar Trust premises, with better seating capacity and a larger stage space ideal for dance drama presentations. Advocate Sambandham, secretary of Chidambaram Natyanjali, says, "We are the pioneers to commence the Natyanjali festival, as we have provided the platform to several dancers. Many of them have become top professionals and now they send their disciples to perform. We are a group of well-wishers who support in organising this festival of such a magnitude. We do get support from the Ministry of Culture but we do not demand; whatever they give, we accept with utmost humility. At times, we get some corporate support too. With the grace of the Almighty, we have emerged as the most prominent festival, particularly during Shivaratri". The mentors who presented their disciples on Saturday were KS Saravana Murugan of Sri Shivani Natyalaya, Sudha Vijaykumar of Amrutha Soundarya from Chennai, Mithun Shyam of Vaishnavi Natyashala, Bengaluru, Dr Sobha Naidu's disciples Sanjana Siripurapu and Sai Sivaranjani Naidu from Hyderabad, "Shiva Nava Bhakti" by Sridevi Nrityalaya, Chennai, choreographed by Guru Sheela Unnikrishnan, Mohiniattam by Dr Sampreetha Kesavan of Hamsini Mohiniatta Kalari from Chennai, Kuchipudi by Saila Sudha Dance Academy of Guru Sailaja, Bharatanatyam by KFA Music Academy of Dr A Sumathi Sunder from Chennai.  Sampreetha Kesavan Dr Sampreetha Kesavan was among the few Mohiniattam dancers who were featured in the festival. Based on the traditional Kalamandalam bani, Sampreetha commenced her immaculate performance with a Ganapathi Stuthi "Varnamukhathone Vananguvom" in ragam Rugmambari and adi talam. However, the piece de resistance of the evening was the interpretation of "Nadana Nipuna Viswanadham" in praise of Lord Shiva with the depiction of episodes like Manmadha and Neelakanta and the Navarasa Nayaka with choreography by Guru Nirmala Panicker. Sampreetha is an accomplished performer and established Hamsini Mohiniatta Kalari in Chennai in 2009. Kuchipudi by the disciples of Guru Sailaja of Saila Sudha Dance Academy, was noteworthy for the clarity of movements and elegance. They depicted Adi Shankaracharya's Pancha Akshara shlokam "Na Ma Shi Va Ya" and concluded with the number "Shankara Srigiri" with professional quality.  Sridevi Nrityalaya One the best performers of the festival were the dancers from Sridevi Nrityalaya from Chennai. Besides the beautiful aharya, costume and make up, the dancers rendered a sleek performance of high professional standard pertaining to "Shiva Nava Bhakti". Sanjana Ramesh played Lord Shiva and Gayatri Suresh as Parvati were brilliant, creating a lasting impression of aesthetic quality. Students of Vaishnavi Natyashala, Bengaluru, disciples of Guru Mithun Shyam, presented the composition of Madurai R Muralidharan, the varnam "Konjum Salangai". The ankle bells, the most precious adornment for classical dancers, considered a symbol of dedication to Lord Nataraja, danced to raga Lathangi, describing the presence of the goddess and her inseparable connection with the Lord (Shiva Shakti), were brought to life with dance dialogue with Shiva and Parvati, inclusive of akasha charis, the Lord as the embodiment of 'pancha bhootas' and the depiction of the Lord as Neelakanta with fine choreography by Mithun that exposed the prowess of all the six dancers, as they danced with uniformity and synchronisation. The dancers who performed were Harshada D, Manasvini GP, Moukthika Pai, Roshni Raja, Shravani Patil and Sruthi VB. Disciples of Dr A Sumathi Sunder of KFA Music Academy from Chennai, also performed "Konjum Salangai". It was a beautiful spectacle to watch the dancers, attired in the uniform costume of yellow with pink linings, dancing to rhythmic precision and technical quality. Classical dancers featured on the Shivaratri were disciples of Guru Amrithavarshini Raju (Puducherry), Guru Kalaiyaras of Thillai Sri Sivakami Natyalaya (Chidambaram). Guru Padma Raghavan presented 'Meenakshi Kalyanam', Guru Urmila Sathyanarayanan and her students, Guru Srekala Bharat presented 'Utthama Deivangal' by Thejas School of Performing Arts, Chennai, Kathak Guru Maneesha Sathe from Pune, Guru Revathi Narasimhan's disciple Devika Parameshwaran, Satvika Reddy - disciple of Jaikishore and Padmavani Mosalikanti, Guru Snehal Phatak Kalamkar, Guru Sharath TS with Sharath Nrityanusandhanam from Bengaluru, Guru Shama Krishna with Shraddha Dance Centre, Bengaluru, Guru Aruljathi with Shri Lasya Kshetram from Chennai, Guru Anjana Pradeep's Dr TCG's Academy of Indian Music and Arts, Chennai, Guru Lavanya Sankar and Uma Satyanarayana and Guru Aparna Vinod with Tharang Academy of Arts, Bengaluru. After the interesting and dramatic interpretation of 'Meenakshi Thiru Kalyanam' by the disciples of Padma Raghavan, it was interesting to watch eight dancers ascend the stage to present the popular Swati Thirunal Kirtana "Visweswara darshan kare, chalo man tum Kashi", performed by the disciples of Guru Urmila Satyanarayanan. They concluded their attractive performance with Kala Bhairava Ashtakam in praise of Lord Shiva. Guru Maneesha Sathe's disciples were among the few dancers to present Kathak. Commencing with "Hai Shiva Shankara", the five dancers performed Taal Rudra and Shiva Tandava with vibrancy and involvement. Devika Parameshwaran, disciple of Guru Revathi Narasimhan performed the traditional popular number "Oru kalai thuki" as Lord Nataraja dances and balances with one foot. This was followed by "Shankara Srigiri". Devika justified her performance with distinct poses, movements inclusive of the akasa charis. Kuchipudi by Satvika Reddy was sparkling and elegant too. She commenced with the beautiful composition "Shiva Shiva Bhava" and concluded with the complex rhythmic patterns on the rim of the brass plate in the Tarangam. Satvika is the disciple of the accomplished and dynamic couple, the Mosalikantis. Sharath TS's disciples rendered a powerful display of Ananda Nartanam and the complex Thillana. Shama Krishna and her group displayed the dramatic 'Amruta Manthan' and the Gurumurthy composition of Shiva Padam with complete involvement and sincerity, winning the appreciation from the audience. The last day of the festival featured the spectacular and dynamic group from Mangalore, disciples of Guru Vidya Manoj. The eight dancers danced "Bhaja Viswanathan" and "Kapalini Dayanidhi" with such poise and aesthetic quality. It seemed as if eight apsaras had descended on earth to entertain and elevate the audience to a higher level of supreme consciousness. It was a colourful extravaganza, as the eight dancers appeared in bright costume colours like blue, green, yellow, orange, red, violet, pink etc They concluded their performance in praise of the goddess, "Bhagyada Lakshmi baramma".  Anuradha Vikranth & Drishti ensemble Dr Anuradha Vikranth's Drishti ensemble (Bangalore) presented 'Satyam Shivam Sundaram' pertaining to the varied facets and manifestation of the lord, his glory and his power. Danced with professional ease and proficiency. Dr Pooja and Dr Prarthana, disciples of Guru Mysore Nagaraj, created a spell on the audience with their immaculate and flawless Kathak. The mentors whose disciples performed on the last two days of the festival were Jency Lawrence (Kumbakonam), Ananya Ainkaran (UK), Dr Kalaijothi Vijayakumar (Chennai), Kanimozhi Menon, Dr Lakshmi Ramaswamy, Pt Rabindra Atibudhi (Mumbai), Roopashree Madhusudan, Dr S Divyasena, Sudha Thamatiran (Malaysia), Shankar Kandasamy (Malaysia), Dhanya Sree Sasikumar (Malaysia), Dr Rathna Kumar (USA), Geetha Srinivasan, Elaalan (Chidambaram), Sisira Das and Uma Sivabalan (Malaysia). On the whole, it was quite an interesting festival with the underlining spiritual fervour that dominated the festival. While some of the dancers performed extremely well, there were others who were partially pleasing. Kudos to the organisers for putting together a festival of such a magnitude.  Vijay Shankar is a Kuchipudi and Kathakali exponent, teacher, bilingual journalist, arts critic and actor. |
