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The Natyanjali Dance Fests are special. The dancers hop across one temple to the other during A place for Kathak Backstage at Chidambaram.
Mythili will travel to the USA in April on a concert tour. For the Natyanjali, Mythili brought in Harikrishna Kalyanasundaram, son of the well-known dance guru who has made Matunga, Mumbai, his home. Kalyanasundaram senior was guru of Mythili's mom, Viji. Their dance academy celebrated 60 years last year and the chief guest was the President, Dr. Abdul Kalam. And Harikrishna, who did the nattuvangam this evening, says they are planning another special event this year - since his appa will turn 75 soon.
Sanjay runs the Parampara Centre for Dance and Music. He says, with classical dances getting more play on TV, there is an increasing interest in Kathak in Hyderabad. He and his colleagues tour a lot but restrict to the south. "There is a hierarchy in the north and they do not look at us!" he says. This is Sanjay's second trip to the Chidambaram Natyanjali. And though it is dull Monday and he and his troupe perform past 9 pm, there are over 2000 people watching them.
One performance helps him and the dancers assess a new production before taking it to places. With Lakshmi are dancers Roshini Rajmohan, Archana Mahesh, Poornima Balasubramaniam, Devi G., Lakshmipriya Sundaresan and Premila Hariharan. The Natyanjali has a place for everyone. Famous and not so. City-based and teenagers from small towns. And for all forms of dance. I can hear a huge round of applause for Sanjay Joshi and his dancers as we post this note on Day 4 at Chidambaram. And as dancer Uday Shankar from Oman takes the stage at 10.15 pm, there are 1000 people to watch him. Photos by Mohandas Vadakara |
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