Seven-day Nishagandhi Dance Fest Commences

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM:
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan inaugurated the annual Nishagandhi Dance Festival at Kanakakunnu Palace grounds here on Monday, setting the stage for leading exponents and upcoming artistes of diverse Indian choreographic traditions to enthral the audience for the next seven days.

Vijayan also presented the prestigious Nishagandhi Puraskaram to eminent Bharatanatyam exponent and choreographer Dr C.V. Chandrasekharin recognition of his invaluable contributions as a dancer, scholar and teacher. The coveted honour, bestowed on top-notch choreographers for their outstanding contributions, carries a purse of Rs 1.5 lakh, a bronze statuette of Bharathamuni and citation.

In his address at the inaugural ceremony at Nishagandhi Auditorium, Vijayan said Kerala provided ample scope for artists to experiment and innovate freely. “We ensure that there is no biased approach to art forms of any school or group by keeping the diversity intact.”

“It’s a welcome sign that artistes have come out in protest to express their resentment against anti-democratic and fascist tendencies. Such protests through art will upset many, who are the practitioners of intolerance. Artistes should fight against any move that hinder freedom of expression through art,” the Chief Minister said.

Vijayan added that Nishagandhi Dance Festival has been recognised as a global event and the State can be proud of that. In his presidential address, Minister for Co-operation, Tourism and Devaswoms, Kadakampally Surendran, noted that Nishagandhi Dance Festival has set a bench mark and is rated on par with Khajurao and Konark dances festivals.

Rani George, Secretary, Tourism, welcomed the gathering. V.K. Prashanth MLA; M. Vijayakumar, Chairman, KTDC; Palayam Rajan, Councillor, Corporation; V.K. Madhu, President, District Panchayat; and P Bala Kiran, Director, Tourism, also spoke.

The awardee and the dancers of the fest were selected by an eminent jury consisting of C.P. Nair, former Chief Secretary of Kerala, and writer; Dr V.R. Prabodhachandran Nair, Linguist; Methil Devika, Dancer and choreographer; Rani George, Secretary, Tourism; and P Bala Kiran, Director, Tourism.

Octogenarian Dr Chandrasekhar has a PG Diploma in Bharatanatyam, besides undergoing training at Kalakshethra, Chennai, under the tutelage of legendary Bharatanatyam exponents like Rukminidevi Arundale, Karaikal Saradambal, and K.N. Dhandaipani Pillai. He is also a mentee of Carnatic musicians Budalur Krishnamurthy Sastri and MD Ramanathan.

At present, Dr Chandrasekhar is running a dance institution, ‘Nrithyasree’, in Chennai. A Padma Bhushan awardee, he was conferred with Sangeet Natak Academi Award in 1993, and Kalidas Samman in 2008.

This edition of the festival features performances of P. Praveen Kumar, Arun Sankar, Mansia. P.V, Arjun. S. Kulathingal, N. Srikanth, Aswathy Srikanth, Devika Sajeevan and Jyothsna Jaganathan (Bharatanatyam); Kalamandalam Veena Warrier, Dr RLV Ramakrishnan& group, Madhavi Chandran, and Dr Sumitha Nair. N (Mohiniyattam); Kavitha Dwibedi& group (Odissi); Bimbavathi Devi (Manipuri); Navin. R. Hegde, and Rohini Prabhath (Kathak); and Geetha Padmakumar & group, Dr Ananda Shankar Jayant and Reshma. U. Raj (Kuchipudi).

P. Praveen Kumar performed Bharathanatyam on the inaugural day, and ‘NrithyaDhara’, a fusion of Odissi, Chhau, Mohiniyattam, Kathak and Manipuri, was also staged.

As the nation is commemorating the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, a specially choreographed production on the life and message of the Father of the Nation will be staged on January 26. Eminent artistes, including Kalamandalam Gopi will perform in the “Kathakali Mela” being held in parallel to the dance festival on all the seven days.