For most artistes, the journey to Chidambaram is a sort of pilgrimage.
Kochi-based Shymala Surendran runs 'Dharini' in that part of God's Own Country. She cannot refuse the invite to perform at Chidamabaram though her dancers have families to take care and the musicians have a day job. So she hires a van and lands here.
She and her dancers present a tight but immensely well- rehearsed performance that ends with a tribute to Lord Ayyappa. Performance over the troupe gets into the van and will spend 12 hours in it to get back home.
Dance-drummers from Imphal of the Maniton Singh Troupe are here doing the Natyanjali circuit, sponsored by Sangeet Natak Akademi. In a smatter of Hindi and English we understand their need for mikes to stand up from the sand so that people can hear them and the music of their drums in the Pung Cholam performance.
Sivakumar & Sailaja and their sishyas, Chennai
Chidambaram tonight is a hub of artistes from all over. It makes for a nice experience. Sweta Prachande is a Pune resident but for four years now been training under the famed Bharatanatyam dancer Priyadarshini Govind in Chennai.
Sweta is a 'Balashree' awardee and has done some international tours and is highly talented. This is her first Natyanjali at Chidambaram. "My guru choreographed one item specially for the Natyanjali. And I had to work at it,"says Swetha.
Also excited is young Pooja Rao Allepalli who is based in the USA and is a student of Adyar Lakshman in Chennai. Pooja performed at four other temples this week and is completely exhausted after the thillana here. "This is really special," she says.
Dancers of Srivaari Kalakshetra, Tirupathi
The show of the evening is presented by Shankari Natyashal of Hyderabad. A Kuchipudi dance-drama packed into 25 minutes. Guru Vijayavalli Priya is simply stunning in her narration. Her narration, singing and effects roll out in a stunning cascade as the young artistes perform. Priya's husband, a violinist says his wife has been a performer since the age of five and is a trained Kathakalashepam artiste.
The audience loves this show and cheers when the curtain falls. Well, there are no curtains here. Just the open stage lit up by Thennarasu and his team - the lighting chief had an accident yesterday and yet, got treated and was at his post later. That is the spirit of the Natyanjali team here.
Though this is a weekday, the eastern yard is packed. I am going to get back to the front space to catch the Imphal drummer-dancers in their second act of the night
P. S.: Our friends from Imphal rocked the place. They got a thunderous ovation. And the women of Chidambaram shook hands with them as they left the venue. Wow!
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