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Award conferred on Bharatanatyam dancers

— PHOTO: R.M. RAJARATHINAM.

HONOUR: Dancers V.P. Dhananjayan and Shantha Dhananjayan who were conferred the award by B. Narayanaswamy, president, Salangai Academy of Indian Classical Arts, in Tiruchi on Sunday.

TIRUCHI: Legendary Bharatanatyam dancers V.P. Dhananjayan and Shantha Dhananjayan were conferred with the ‘Guru Sreshta’ Award, in recognition of their contribution to Indian classical dance, by the Salangai Academy of Indian Classical Arts in the city on Sunday.

Students of the academy gave a rousing welcome to the Padma Bhushan awardees for the function organised here on the occasion. The award was conferred on the couple by the academy’s president Brigadier (retd.) B. Narayanaswamy and Vice-president Prema Nandakumar.

“This is something special as our ‘sishyas’ have given us the award. We are happy to receive it,” Mr. Dhananjayan said.

He also felt the need for giving more exposure to the budding dancers in Tiruchi. “Youngsters are very talented and also the academies training them are doing a great job. But the young dancers should perform on stage more often. Cultural organisations should play a key role by organising programmes on a regular basis,” Mr. Dhananjayan added.

The Director of the academy, Mukundan said that Dhananjayans have been a great source of inspiration for the younger generation of dancers. Principal Vijaya Mukundan said the academy has been functioning for the past 23 years and aims to contribute towards the development of rich cultural heritage of the country. “At present close to 100 students are undergoing training at ‘Salangai’,” she added.

Musician and Musicologist Lokanatha Sharma, Mridanga Vidwan R. Thayumanavan and Bharathanatyam guru and Sanskrit scholar Uduppi Lakshmi Narayanan spoke on the importance of ‘Guru Bhakti.’ Bharatanatyam performance by Shimona, Suganthi, Varshitha and Nirantharee, all students of the academy, enthralled the audience.

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