Kuchipudi festival
RANEE KUMAR
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The fest at the village of Kuchipudi will be held from March 10.
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T he annual Siddendra Yogi Mahotsav 2006 is all set to take off this coming week. The hamlet of Kuchipudi (50 kms from Vijayawada) in the green delta belt of Krishna district, will don a new avatar. Barring the scorching March sun, dance lovers will throng the village for a first hand experience of the place which is the homeland of the now famous classical dance style known by the same name.
Around 100 families, are born in dance, learn dance and live by dance with substitute income from agriculture. Ever since, Kuchipudi hit the national and international map by virtue of its brilliant style, profound repertoire and exceptional teachers like Vempati, Vedantam, Chinta and Pasumarthy, who have become brand names. An annual festival of dance is observed in the name of the mythical Siddhendra Yogi - the founding father of this dance genre and the ruling deity of Kuchipudi - Devi Bala Tripura Sundari (mother goddess).
Showcase of talent
The festival is observed at different times of the year. This year around, renowned guru Vempati Chinna Satyam (founder Kuchipudi Art Academy, Chennai) who hails from Kuchipudi is organising the fest along with the Akhila Bharata Kuchipudi Natya Kala Mandali (based in the village) as a week-long gala fest showcasing the best talent in various dance forms across the country. A 24x7 affair, the festival is not merely about stage shows. It is highly focused, enveloping a range of educative, entertaining and enhancing facets like training camps in the subtle nuances of this dance style conducted by the veteran Vempati and his artiste son Ravi Shankar.
As an incentive, the participants will be given a certificate attested by the Guru himself. This apart, professionals in stage make-up and lighting will hold demos to enlighten the local artistes in such sophistry will go a long way for successful dance and ballet programmes. While a picture-cum-video exhibition will trace the history of the village, its dance and the biographies of its illustrious dancers/gurus right from the 18th century, a display of antique jewels (crowns, ornaments) carved out of wood and metal, original palm leaf scripts of the ballets and early day costumes will allow connoisseurs a peek into the ancient art.
As a tribute to the ancient fathers of Kuchipudi, the seven gurus whose phenomenal contribution to the dance has made them cult figures will be immortalised in bronze statues for coming generations to revere. As a bonus, one eminent artiste will be honoured for the year with the Vedantam Lakshminarayana Sastry Puraskar along with a cash prize of Rs. 50,000 for a lifetime contribution to the cause of Kuchipudi art. This year, Patrayani Sangeeta Rao of Chinna Satyam's own stable has been the chosen one.
A varied fare from morn to night awaits the viewers in the form of Kuchipudi Yakshaganams, kalapams, Pagati vesham, seminars on music.. Dr Vempati's own troupe will present the guru's famous ballets, which are veritable treasure troves to dance lovers.
The seven-day fest will take off on March 10 commencing with the kalyana utsav of the presiding deities Bala Tripura Sundari and Lord Ramalingeswara Swamy.
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