Perur is a few kilometres outside the industrial town of Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu, south India. The Sri Patteswar Temple here is dedicated to Lord Shiva and is well known. It is considered to be the 'melai Chidambaram'.

Every year, in October, the Rotary Club of Coimbatore Metropolis, with support from the department that manages temples, hosts a three-day dance fest that is as much an offering to the lord as much as it is a showcase of the best of classical dance.

The recitals take place on a special stage that is erected inside the temple precincts and besides the devotees, a large number of rasikas from Coimbatore attend the performances.

This year, the fest is on Oct.9, 10 and 11 ( Friday to Sunday).

On Oct.9, three sishyas of guru Mirdula Rai will perform at 6 p,m. and this will be followed by a special dance production 'Perur Puranam' to be presented by guru Amutha Dhandapani of Coimbatore and her students at Bharatalayam. Later, at about 8.20 p,m, students of the Palakkad based Avishkara academy will present Mohiniattam.

On Day 2, Oct.10, students of Vasantha Aravindan of Coimbatore will perform at 6.05 p.m. and this will be followed by the Odissi recital of the internationally known dancer Madhavi Mudgal who is based in Delhi. Arushri will join her on stage. The third show will have guru Nirupama Rajendra and her sishyas from Bangalore perform Bharatanatyam.

On Day 3, Oct.11, the evening begins with the recital of young Karunasagari of Coimbatore, followed by a dance drama 'Arupadai Veedu' produced by guru Sasirekha Rammohan of Chennai. Finally, at 8.15 pm. Hari and Chetana lead the Noopur academy of dancers with a Kathak recital. They are from Bangalore.

The weather is pleasant in Coimbatore which has had a good spell of rains so enjoying dance in the open and inside a temple will be a unique experience for the rasika, says organiser S. Gurumurthy of the Rotary Club.

You can contact him at 98422 51510 for more info.