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D.K. Datar

October 14, 2018, 3:23 am
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14.10.1932
Birthdays & Anniversaries

Pandit D. K. Datar is one of India's foremost violinists. He had his initial training from the Late Pandit Vighneshwar Shastri. Later he received invaluable guidance from Professor B. R. Deodhar. But his style was really influenced by his close association with the Late Pandit D. V. Paluskar. His gayaki style of playing has a unique quality that is rarely found in today's violinists. Pandit Datar is well known for his systematic presentation of the "ragas" in the classical tradition. He also excels, in presenting thumaris, bhajans and other forms of light classical music.

He is a recipient of the Sangeet Natak Academy Award (1996) and the Maharashtra Government Award (1998). He has been visiting faculty at many universities such as Bombay University, S.N.D.T. University, M. S. Baroda University, Banaras Hindu University and Khairaghar University. He has performed duets with Shahid Parvez, Hariprasad Chaurasia, Vijay Raghav Rao, Sultan Khan, Devendra Murdeshvar and has accompanied D. V. Paluskar, Kishori Amonkar, Saraswati Rane, Hirabai Barodekar, Narayanrao Vyas, Kumar Gandharva and many others.

Pandit Datar has toured extensively in India and has participated a number of times in all of the presrigious music conferences held in Bhopal, Pune, Ahmedabad, Hydrabad, Madras, Baroda, Calcutta, Nagpur, Indore and Delhi. He also had successful concert tours of U. S. A., Canada, U. K., Europe, Iceland, Japan, U.A.E. and countries of South East Asia.
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N. Ramani

October 15, 2018, 3:24 am
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15.10.1934 - 9.10.2015
Birthdays & Anniversaries

Dr. Natesan Ramanicommonly known as N. Ramani or N. Flute Ramani, was an Indian Carnatic flautist. He was awarded the Madras Music Academy's Sangeetha Kalanidhi in 1996. Ramani is also credited for introducing the long flute into Carnatic music.
Ramani performed his first concert at the age of 8. The turning point in Ramani's career was when he became a disciple of his maternal uncle and eminent flautist, In 1945, Ramani performed his first concert on All India Radio. Following Ramani's first concert at the Madras Music Academy in 1956,at the age of 22, Ramani had reached the highest point in his career and become an artist of international fame, and his concerts became a regular feature.
The "Mali" bani encompassed facial expressions such as slight tilting of the head, varied movement of the lips which produced the vocal effect in the Carnatic never explored before by Sharaba Shastri or Palladam Sanjeeva Rao.Bringing out more of the tradition Mali introduced in the playing of the Carnatic flute, Ramani's distinctive style is the transformation of the Carnatic flute into the voice of a proficient Carnatic vocalist. Stressing such importance on the emphasis of vocal style of playing, he displayed characteristics of the human voice in his concerts often observed in his fast paced yet melodious performances.
Ramani's performances in All India Radio (AIR) have received numerous praises from Hindustani and Carnatic musicians alike and his performances overseas had been recognised with numerous awards.
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Vempati Chinna Satyam

October 15, 2018, 3:26 am
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15.10.1929 - 29.7.2012
Vempati Chinna Satyam was an Indian dancer and a guru of the Kuchipudi dance form.Chinna Satyam was born in Kuchipudi, Andhra Pradesh. He was taught by Vedantam Lakshmi Narayana Sastry. He then refined his art by learning from Sri Tadepally Perrayya Sastry and later was trained by his elder brother Sri Vempati Pedda Satyam in expressions. As he learnt the nuances of this style of dance, he was successful in popularising the Kuchipudi dance form all over the world. 
Chinna Satyam sublimated and systematised Kuchipudi, giving it a more classical basis. He refined the art form, bringing it closer to the standards of Natya Shastra and gave it a whole new perspective and introduced new elements, e.g. chari (leg movements) of Natya Shastra that are significantly different from the interpretations of other dance authorities, such as Padma Subrahmanyam. Previously, it had been considered a "rustic" (folk) form of dance.

Chinna Satyam started the Kuchipudi Art Academy at Madras in 1963. The Academy has to its credit more than 180 solo items and 15 dance dramas composed and choreographed by Satyam. These solo items and dramas have been staged all over India and abroad. He composed his first dance drama Sri Krishna Parijatham in the same period followed by another hit Ksheera Sagara Madanam and played the lead role. His portrayal of Lord Shiva and his choreography was well received.
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Mudicondan Venkatarama lyer

October 15, 2018, 3:27 am
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15.10.1887 - 13.9.1975

Venkatarama Iyer, was a musician's musician whose mastery encompassed both the lakshana (canonical) and lakshya (aesthetic) aspects of Carnatic classical music. Specifically, he was considered an authority on alapana presentation and tanamand pallavi-singing. He was for many years one of the major draws at the morning sessions of the annual conference of the Madras Music Academy at which experts — mostly real experts in those days — delivered illuminating talks or erudite lecture-demonstrations and discusssed raga lakshana-s. His contributions to enlightenment in these areas eventually earned for him the Academy's Sangeeta Kalanidhi title which goes with the honour of presiding over the annual conference.

The journey to the top honour seems to have begun at his birth, for both his parents were musically gifted. His father Chakrapani Iyer was noted for his singing of raga-s and Tevaram-s which are the hymns in Tamil in praise of the divine composed by the saints of the bhakti tradition. In fact, his maternal grandfather Srivanchiyam Swaminatha Iyer was also noted for his singing ability; he specialized in singing pada-s and javali-s with a lilt of his own, which led his listeners to identify him as Talukku [Glitter] Swaminatha Iyer.

                                      To read full story, visit sruti.com and buy Sruti 159
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Sruti

October 15, 2018, 10:25 pm
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Sruti is an English language monthly magazine on the performing arts -- Indian music, dance, and theatre -- published from Chennai, India.
Sruti was founded in 1983 by Dr. N. Pattabhi Raman, who had returned to India from a career abroad, bringing with him a focus and skill for English writing and editing, as well as willingness to engage in sincere criticism and controversy. The magazine initially had financial difficulties, with Pattabhi Raman desiring to gain subscribers vice take out loans, and minimal support from corporations. The journal floundered somewhat following Pattabhi Raman's death in 2002, but as of 2003 it continued forward under staffers who rose to take over its leadership.[1] The magazine was acquired by the Sanmar Group in 2006, and has grown from strength to strength.[2]
Journalist S. Muthiah in 2011 referred to the publication as the country's leading journal on Indian Classical music and dance.
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Bhaskarbuwa Bakhale

October 16, 2018, 10:27 pm
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17.10.1869 - 8.4.1922
Birthdays & Anniversaries

Bhaskar Raghunath Bakhale  (also known as Bhaskarrao or Bhaskarbua or Bhaskarbuwa) was a Hindustani classical vocalist, a composer, and a teacher.

During 1883–1885, Bakhale performed as a child artist in the stage plays of Kirloskar Natak Mandali where Bhaurao Kolhatkar, Moroba Wagholikar, and Balakoba Natekar earned much fame as singers of folksy and light classical stage songs. After completing his training in classical music, Bakhale returned as a classical vocalist in year 1899 or so.[4] During 1897–1901, he served as a professor of music at a training college in Dharwad. Starting year 1901, he was based in Mumbai and Pune but performed throughout India and Nepal. He was given the honorary title "Deva Gandharva" (God Among Celestial Musicians).[7] His notebook lists dhrupads and dhamars learnt by him but he rarely performed those in public. His typical recital comprised khyal ragas and an assortment of dadra, tappa, thumri, bhajan, songs from Marathi stage plays, and traditional Marathi light classical forms. He also had a successful career as the music director of Kirloskar Natak Mandali and, afterwards, of Gandharva Natak Mandali.[8] Govindrao Tembe benefited from Bakhale's advisement in composing music for the stage play Sangeet Manapman (1911).

Bakhale was one of the first vocalists to receive traditional training from multiple gharana systems.[2] Since the turn of the 17th century, Hindustani classical music had become a stronghold of Muslim musicians and Balakrishnabuwa Ichalkaranjikar (1840–1926) was one of the few Hindu vocalists to earn fame at it in the 19th century.
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Palladam Sanjeeva Rao

October 18, 2018, 1:57 am
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18.10.1882 - 11.7.1962

Sanjeeva Rao was born on 18 October 1882, in Palladam in the Coimbatore district of the then Madras Presidency. He was the youngest of the three sons of Palladam Venko- bachar, an ardent devotee of Anjaneya, who had the reputation of possessing tantric powers that helped him cure severe illnesses. The father depended on donations to maintain himself and his family, but his reputation extended to the adjoining districts of Tiruchi and Salem also. It was this reputation apparently that paved the way for Sanjeeva Rao's career in music.

Flutist Palladam Sanjeeva Rao belonged to the era, if not the race, of giants who dominated Car- natic classical music for about three decades from the nineteen twenties. He was the uncrowned king of the flute-until a prodigy called T.R. Mahalingam came along and revolutionised the Carnatic flute. He did not quite lose his throne to the revolutionary, for he continued to be respected by his peers and supported by the Establishment but he was no longer quite the sovereign he was.

Sanjeeva Rao was a disciple and successor of Sarabha Sastri but, even in the early nineteen thirties, there were not many who had heard the blind bard of the bamboo often enough to confirm that, although Rao had inherited Sastri's flute, he had also acquired his style and his mastery of the instrument at the same level. Writting in Personalities In Present. Day Music, published in 1933, the late E. Krishna Iyer, connoisseur and critic and a force at the Madras Music Academy, could only say: "The echoes of that Orpheus of India (Sarabha Sastri) are said to be discernible in the present in Sanjeeva Rao ". There is no doubt, how- ever, that Sanjeeva Rao had attained enough proficiency to establish himself as a prominent player in the major league.

   To read full story, visit sruti.com and buy Sruti 67
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Arvind Parikh

October 19, 2018, 1:59 am
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Birthdays & Anniversaries
19.10.1927

Arvind Parikh is a Hindustani classical musician and sitar player whose performing career has spanned over six decades. His association with such learned musicians as B. R. Deodhar, Latafat Hussain Khan, Amir Khan, Niyaz Ahmad-Faiyaz Ahmad Khan, D. T. Joshi, andRadhika Mohan Maitra  and vocalists helped him in his research work on different rare ragas and compositions. 

Arvind Parikh has performed at almost all the major music festivals in India and Europe, and has had concert tours in several parts of West Asia, the Far East and Australia.

Parikh has numerous students internationally including musicologist Deepak Raja, music director Tushar Bhatia, sitarists Rafat Khan Niyazi, Vinayak Chitter, Ramprapanna Bhattacharya, Abhik Mukherjee, Ganesh Mohan, and more. Parikh has documented many the precious compositions and ragas. "Sitar Guru",and "Bandish Parampara" published by Navras records UK are some of his works.

Parikh has worked as musicologist and teacher, and promoted initiatives aimed at increasing interest in Hindustani classical music n India and abroad. He was vice president of the International Music Council (UNESCO) during 1994-97 and is now co-ordinator for the Indian sub-continent. He is President of the Indian Musicological Society, and chairman of the Western India Chapter of ITC-Sangeet Research Academy. At his instance, music forums have been established in Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata and Delhi. He spearheads an association of classical musicians, called the All India Musicians’ Group (AIMG) drawn from the Carnatic and Hindustani traditions (including Zakir Hussain, Hari Prasad Chaurasia, Shivkumar Sharma, Chitravina N Ravikiran, and Rajan and Sajan Mishra), to create support in government, industry and the media for Indian classical music.

Parikh was awarded the Gaurav Puraskar for 1997-98 by the Gujarat State Sangeet Natak Academy. A recipient of the Sangeet Natak Akademi award for Instrumental music (sitar) in 2003, he is a top grade artist and regular broadcaster of All India Radio.
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Remembering Pattabhi Sir

October 23, 2018, 11:23 pm
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By Padmini Ganesh

When you think of 'Alapana' -- such an artistic way of setting up a home and workspace, you are quite fascinated with the aesthetic thought process of Pattabhi Sir -- the founder-editor N. Pattabhi Raman.

The cool way to enter by washing one's feet, the beautiful paintings, artifacts displayed without being obtrusive, the warmth and the ambience which only a connoisseur of arts could achieve -- and that is what he was -- with a no nonsense attitude, but with the depth of knowledge that was unquestionable, and the passion to bring out the best in the form of this outstanding magazine called Sruti!

On the occasion of his birthday, we wish the Sruti Team all the good wishes for the amazing work they are doing and in carrying on with his legacy -- the magazine has successfully completed 35 glorious years. It is always a pleasure to hold a Sruti magazine in the hand and be engrossed in the world of arts from around the globe. Keep rocking Sruti staffers!
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Madurai Mani Iyer

October 25, 2018, 4:08 am
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His music was sweetness personified and his voice had a bell like tonal purity. The name of Madurai city has come down from Madhura, or ‘sweetness’, and ‘Mani’, an abbreviation of the name ‘Subramaniam’, means a ‘bell’, among other things. These two words sum up Madurai Mani Iyer so perfectly. Add the simplicity with which he presented his music and it was music as it ought to be sung, appealing to the cognoscenti and lay audiences alike. A man who asked nothing more of life than the ability to sing, Madurai Mani Iyer was an all-time great, an icon whose fan following continues to increase decades after his physical form left us. 

Born on 25th October 1912 at Madurai, Mani Iyer came from a well-known music family of the temple town. His father’s brother, Madurai Pushpavanam Iyer, was the reigning star of the early years of the last century. His premature death ended a potentially brilliant career. Mani’s father, Ramaswami Iyer, an employee of the District Court at Madurai, was highly respected for his knowledge in the theoretical aspects of music. His mother, Subbulakshmi Ammal, was a good singer. Mani Iyer was the only son among their four children. 

The musical atmosphere at home was encouraging and soon Mani learnt all his father could teach him. He was sent to Rajam Bhagavatar, a disciple of Ettayapuram Ramachandra Bhagavatar. The tutelage continued for two years, at the end of which Rajam Bhagavatar took employment at the Tyagaraja Vidyalaya, a music school founded by Harikesanallur L Muthiah Bhagavatar in Madurai. 

To read full story, visit sruti.com and buy Sruti 294
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KattumannarKoil Muthukumara Pillai

October 27, 2018, 12:13 am
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27.10.1874

Kattumannar Koil Muthukumara Pillai. A name that still glows in the  annals of Bharatanatyam  of Indian dance, some 143   years after his birth and 57 years after his death.

He was an unusual phenomenon. A product of   unique blend of deep spirituality and instinctive love for the dance. The spiritual side of his personality lent a luminous glow to his art.

He was the only dance master of the old tradition who had a career as a performer also. Notably, he dressed up and danced as a girl, a woman.

He survived a dark period when the dance, then known as Sadir, was looked down upon by society and virtually driven out of existence. But he did more than that; he served as a guardian of the true greatness of tradition and succeeded in propagating it far and wide through his teaching.

He was a great teacher with a missionary zeal, deep dedication and a stern sense of discipline. 

M.K. Saroja, Rukmini Devi, Mrinalini Sarabhai, Muthuswami Pillai, Kamala, Ram Gopal, Nala Najan, Janak Khendry...who distinguished themselves in dance...were all privileged to learn from him.

The world of dance, of Bharatanatyam, has ample reasons to remember him with gratitude. 

                                                      To read full story, visit sruti.com and buy Sruti 108
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Hema Rajagopalan

October 27, 2018, 11:30 pm
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28.10.1950
Birthdays & Anniversaries
Hema Rajagopalan is a senior Bharatanatyam dancer, teacher and choreographer ba Hema Rajagopalan  sed in Chicago, IL, U.S.A. She is the founder and artistic director of  Natya Dance Theatre, a professional touring company and school that has specialised in Bharatanatyam for more than 40 years.  She has performed as a soloist at prestigious venues throughout the world, receiving critical acclaim. As a choreographer she has created numerous short works and over thirty major productions. Her gurus are some of the foremost figures in Bharatanatyam—natyacharya K.N. Dandayudhapani Pillai and abhinaya guru Kalanidhi Narayanan.
Among the many prestigious awards that Hema has received are an Emmy Award for the PBS production of World Stage Chicago; seven National Endowment for the Arts Choreography Awards (the highest number ever received by any U.S. choreographer); and, in India, the Vishwa Kala Bharati Award for artistic excellence from Bharat Kalachar. In 2004, she received the Nritya Seva Mani award from Bhairavi, a prominent organisation based in Cleveland, Ohio. Hema is the first US-based dancer to receive this award. Also in 2004, she was the first choreographer working in an Indian tradition to be selected among leading Chicago choreographers by the Chicago Dancemakers Forum to create new work.
Scores of students trained under her have established themselves as performers, teachers and choreographers. Her teaching accolades include the Master Teacher Award from the Asian American Heritage Council and the Master Teacher Award from the City of Chicago. She has served as a dance panelist with the National Endowment for the Arts, the Illinois Arts Council and other state arts agencies. Hema has been appointed by the Canadian government to assess Bharatanatyam dance training programmes. She conducts workshops and master classes at several colleges and universities, and is an adjunct faculty member at The Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago.
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T.S. Sankaran

October 27, 2018, 11:31 pm
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28.10.1930 - 9.4.2015
Birthdays & Anniversaries

T.S. Sankaran was the son of flute vidwan T.N. Sambasiva Iyer from whom he imbibed music and flute playing at a very tende  age. The family hailed from the village of Sathanur in the musically and culturally rich Kaveri delta. Family folklore dating back a couple generations speaks of associations with the illustrious 19th century son of Sathanur, musician Panchanada Iyer, a disciple of Muthuswami Dikshitar.

Later on, “Sankaran sir” (as he was to all who knew him) was a loving and dedicated disciple as well as perhaps the closest confidante of the legendary Mali. “Mali sir” was a native of Tiruvidaimarudur, a mere stone’s throw from Sathanur. In a conversation with the poet Vali, published in the Tamil weekly Kumudam sometime in the 1960s, Mali hailed Sankaran as an Ekalavya who perfectly imbibed his style without any direct instruction. That said, Sankaran was no carbon copy of his guru. He was an original musical thinker and the innovator of a unique flute playing style. He certainly took the best elements of the Mali style, added his personal touches and perhaps combined it with other elements reminiscent of the great nagaswara vidwan T.N. Rajarathnam Pillai whom Sankaran held in the highest esteem. What he evolved was an exquisite gayaki style. When playing kritis, it was marked by great poise and control, the kalapramanam steady, precise and unhurried, the sahitya clearly articulated by an optimal blend of blowing, tonguing and fingering. His raga alapanas combined the core gamakas with long, perfectly sruti aligned karvais and interspersed by rapid fire nagaswaram-like brigas. Sankaran’s use of blow modulation for expressivity is unique among Carnatic flautists who depend mostly on fingering techniques for this purpose. Furthermore, he used head movement effectively for precise enunciation of certain gamakas and as part of his overall expression. While his “viral adi” or fingered staccato was of the strong Mali school variety, he also used true tuthukaaram or tonguing for clear cut articulation of swaraprastara. Mention must also be made of the beautiful Mali school cross fingering techniques that lent so much character and weight to spuritams. Sankaran’s posture was perfectly erect and he held his flute in a most graceful and elegant way. His gentle swaying and eye movements communicated the bhava of the music wonderfully to the fellow musicians on stage and to the listeners in front of him. 
To read full story, visit sruti.com and buy Sruti 369
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Aruna Sairam

October 30, 2018, 2:20 am
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30.10.1952
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PUBLISHER’S NOTE

November 1, 2018, 3:22 am
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Rereading old issues of Sruti on the occasion of our 35th anniversary, we found a few names recurrently appearing in bylines of general articles on the state of music and dance marked by acute observation and deep sensitivity to aesthetics and standards. Ramaswamy R. Iyer’s was a wise voice from Delhi that stood for some uncompromising values in Carnatic music, a voice unafraid to express original views. S. Sankaranarayanan practically created a new genre of writing with his Stamps series, giving biographical writing on artists a philatelic twist as it were, and revealing deep knowledge of both music and musicians as well as complete authority in the field of stamps. Sriram V. has carved a niche for himself as a raconteur and chronicler capable of both sparkling humour and profound empathy with his subjects. By his own admission, writing for Sruti, especially profiles and the Sangeeta Sthalam series, helped him to grow into the historian he is recognised as today. Chithra Madhavan brings an intimate knowledge of temple architecture, sculpture and history to her heritage column, which is touched by deep love and knowledge of her subject. Charukesi writes his interviews with great empathy, and violinist R.K. Shriramkumar is a great asset to us as a willing contributor of knowledgeable but eminently readable inputs on music and musicians.

Indira Parthasarathy’s return to Chennai a few years ago from the US proved to be a godsend for us, as we were able to persuade him to write a column on theatre. It sparkles with wisdom and a lifetime of accumulated experience—writing, reading, watching plays and teaching theatre. His all-time favourite may be William Shakespeare, but his pride in Indian dramatics and knowledge of the subject have added a new dimension of authenticity to our theatre pages. V.A.K. Ranga Rao’s idiosyncratic way of presenting his views, on mainly dance, is always founded on depth and an eye for detail, a quality that makes his reviews of books and performances quite unique. Sujatha Vijayaraghavan’s writing on dance is both thought provoking and scholarly, but often reflects her capacity for lateral thinking as a creative writer of merit herself.

Sruti is what it is because of the selfless way all these writers have strengthened our hands.

In this issue we are happy to present an account of the grand golden jubilee celebrations of Bharata Kalanjali—the dance institution established by the Dhananjayans in Chennai. The duo have been good friends of Sruti from its inception, having participated in many of our endeavours. Dhananjayan has been an active contributor to Sruti Box and has been encouraging artists to subscribe to Sruti during his tours abroad. It is indeed a milestone to successfully run a dance school for five decades and Sruti congratulates the dedicated duo and their team.

An interview with senior Bharatanatyam dancer Roja Kannan, who has been in the field for about 45 years and recently donned the mantle of ABHAI president, underlines the importance of hard work, a never-say-die attitude and the need to develop a passion for the art to be able to lead from the front. Another interview with the multifaceted young theatre actor-writer Irawati Karnik, brings the curtains down on the very interesting series on eminent women in theatre by Mahesh Elkunchwar—one of India’s most distinguished playwrights. There are, of course, the regular series, news reports, and comments on issues of topical interest.

The #MeToo movement seems to be having tremendous resonance in the worlds of music and dance in India as much as in the film industry. For the first time, several artists, most of them youngsters, have come together to condemn sexual harassment in the community. The movement has taken the arts world by storm—many of those named have been denied performance slots or have been dislodged from their positions of power. This is an opportunity to create a cleaner, more ethical ecosystem where men and women can pursue artistic activity without fear of demands in cash and kind.
P.U. ARAVIND
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Special Lifetime Achievement award

November 1, 2018, 3:27 am
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Ghatam maestro T.H. ‘Vikku’ Vinayakram was presented the Special Lifetime Achievement award by the Music Academy, Chennai on 10 October 2018. The evening opened with a special percussion performance, Guru LayaSamarpanam, by Vinayakram with his prime disciples. Chief guest Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia and special guest of honour, Sangita Kalanidhi Prof. T.N. Krishnan presented the citation and medal to Vikku Vinayakram. He is the third artist to receive the special lifetime achievement award from the Music Academy after dancer Kamala Narayan and Lalgudi G. Jayaraman.
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T.K. Mahalingam Pillai

November 1, 2018, 12:55 am
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01.11.1917 - 06.12.2002
Birthdays & Anniversaries

Natyacharya Tiruvidaimarudur K. Mahalingam Pillai was a veteran Bharatanatyam guru respected for his dedication to the preservation of traditions and values and for his achievements as a teacher and choreographer. Short in appearance, Mahalingam Pillai was tall in artistic stature.

Mahalingam Pillai belonged to a family of natyacharya-s, who wielded the cymbals for four generations. His ancestors,who hailed from the town of Tiruvidaimarudur in Tanjavur district, included such renowned guru-s as Venkatakrishna Nattuvanar, his son Veeraswamy Pillai, grandson Panchapakesa Nattuvanar, and his great grandson Kuppiah Pillai.

Mahalingam Pillai, eldest son of T.P. Kuppiah Pillai, was born in 1917. Brought up in a vibrant artistic atmosphere, he took to the art of dance and the craft of conducting. Apart from learning dance and music, he also studied Sanskrit, Telugu and Tamil to improve his capacity to understand and project the art. He was initiated into nattuvangam while still a boy. Exposure to dance at home, in the temples and weddings helped hone his skill in wielding the cymbals. He was among the few to be honoured with a 'parivattam'— a special privilege entitling him to serve the deity— at the Konkaneeswarar temple in Tanjavur when he was only seven years old. Before long he was active as a teacher, training a new generation of dancers in Madras, as well as in Tiruvidaimarudur. The Travancore Sisters— Lalitha, Padmini and Ragini— were among his first disciples.

Mahalingam Pillai became the head priest of this Mandir after the demise of his father and brother-in-law. He trained a number of film personalities of the past like Kamini Kaushal, Nalini Jaywant and Waheeda Rehman, although he was not keen to choreograph film dances. Famous dancers like Gopi Krishna, Sitara Devi, Damayanti Joshi and Roshan Kumari also learnt from him. Having settled down in Mumbai, he had a 'cosmopolitan mix' of disciples— Tamilians, Maharashtrians, Gujaratis, Punjabis, as well as students from abroad. He had the reputation of being a conscientious teacher and a strict disciplinarian.

To read full story, visit sruti.com and buy Sruti 222
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Visakha Music Academy Award

November 1, 2018, 10:22 pm
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Visakha Music Academy, Visakhapatnam presented the Mangalampalli Balamuralikrishna Endowment Award to Mandapaka Sarada on 7 July 2018. It was followed by her vocal concert featuring compositions of 20th century vaggeyakaras. The Academy presented the M.S. Subbulakshmi Endowment Award to vocalist Amritha Murali on 22 September 2018. The felicitation function was followed by Amritha’s vocal recital. S.V. Rangarajan (president), M.S. Srinivas (secretary), and other members were also present.
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Lalit Arpan Festival of Dance and Music

November 2, 2018, 12:47 am
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The 17th edition of the Lalit Arpan Festival conducted in Delhi on 27 and 28 September 2018 was a rasika’s delight. It was well organized under the guidance of guru Shovana Narayan, Jyotsna Suri and Harish Narula. The festival commenced with the conferring of the Lalit Arpan Samman on stalwarts like Guru Birju Maharaj (Lifetime Samman), Iqbal Ahmed Khan and Alka Raghuvanshi.

The festival started on a high note with the energetic Kathak performance of young Mrinalini, a student of guru Shovana Narayan since the age of six. Mrinalini’s pleasant disposition and confidence as a dancer reflected the hours of practice that led to her commendable presentation. In between the performance, Mrinalini mentioned that she had grown up watching all the previous editions of the Lalit Arpan festival, and was ecstatic to be
finally performing in it.

Next was a Kuchipudi performance by Shallu Jindal, a disciple of Raja and Radha Reddy. Through her graceful movements, professional footwork and abhinaya, Shallu depicted famous stories from Lord Krishna’s childhood. Her intricate movements and balance on the brass plate, which seemed effortless, won her several rounds of applause from the audience. She also danced to a Meera bhajan (Sanson ki mala pe simruun main pee ka naam), enunciating the bhakti and rakti between two souls.

On day two of the festival, audiences were treated to Ragini Madan’s riveting Kathak performance. Another student of Shovana Narayan, Ragini’s style is a blend of the Lucknow and Jaipur gharanas. Ragini, who has been performing in the UK for more than a decade, performed in India after a gap of 12 years. Her passion for and excellence in Kathak were evident in her sweeping movements and dizzying circles. Ragini also went on to enact the sacrifice of Yasodhara, Gautama Buddha’s wife, penned by Maithili Sharan Gupt. She powerfully emoted Yasodhara’s plight and distress through her darting eye movements and beautiful expressions.

The second performance of the day was by Kristina Dolonina of Lithuania, also a student of Shovana Narayan, who danced at the Lalit Arpan Festival in 2007. The relentless speed of her turns and spins was impressive, and it was heartening to see a foreigner performing an Indian dance form so exquisitely. With a Masters in Hindi from the Jawaharlal Nehru University, she addressed the audience in flawless Hindi. Her abhinaya
piece was an interweaving of two poems by two women in two countries—India’s Mahadevi Varma and a Lithuanian poet—similar in their feelings about pain, suffering and divinity. Kristina is actively involved in promoting Kathak in her country.

A fitting finale of the two-day festival was a soulful music soiree by sitar-sarod brothers Lakshay and Ayush Mohan, who said that it was special for them to be performing in Delhi, their own city. Playing an interactive jugalbandi in raga Durga with harmonious understanding, their chemistry was perfect. Towards the end of the show, their strings strummed at lightning speed, reaching a crescendo. It enthralled the audience which broke out in resounding applause.

Overall, the Lalit Arpan Festival set high standards in both dance and music.

NEHA KIRPAL
(Freelance writer)
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Alepey Venkatesan

November 2, 2018, 12:57 am
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