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Dance & music fiesta
THIS YEAR'S Dharani Kalotsav, a five-day dance and music extravaganza, kicks off at the Kerala Fine Arts Hall, Kochi, quite appropriately on November 1, Kerala Piravi Day. The organisers, Dharani School of Performing Arts Trust, has chosen, what appears to be a perfect mix of Indian dance and music. Contemporary Indian dance virtually took off with Uday Shankar, who was a trailblazer of sorts, coming up with the best of traditionalism, heritage and the new trends in dance. Keeping that style alive is his wife Padmabhushan Amala Shankar. The festival quite appropriately opens with `Glimpses of India' and `Harmony,' dances of Uday Shankar, presented by the Uday Shankar India Culture Centre, Kolkata and directed by Amala Shankar.
Two solo events have been placed as delectably as the middle of a yummy sandwich. Nithyasree Mahadevan is gifted with an amazing voice and a rich lineage. The legendary mridangam exponent Palghat Mani Iyer is her maternal grandfather, D. K. Pattammal her paternal grandmother and D. K. Jayaraman her paternal uncle. And a Nithyasree concert always draws a huge crowd, enamoured by her voice, range and flexibility. Maybe, some of her film hits have added to her popularity.
Following this will be a bharatanatyam recital by one of the most promising of the young dancers, Priyadarshini Govind. Faithful observance of form and content; astonishing attention to details, her performance is marked by artistry, vibrant stage presence and an aesthetic dress sense. These two solo events make up the middle.
With just one show at Thripunithura, the guitar-sitar duo of Dr. Kamala Shankar and Pandit Rajeev Janardan, have struck a chord with the music buffs of the city. They provide the Hindustani flavour. This will be on the penultimate day
The festival concludes with a dance drama `Maha Pattabhishekam,' by a 40-member troupe from the famed Kalakshektra, Chennai, the institution that strives to seek the roots of Indian culture, revive and revitalise ethnic arts and crafts, helping them to find a prefect place in the mainstream of modern life.
K. PRADEEP
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