<p>The festival was held from March 12 to 15 at M R Krishnamurthy’s dance school, Kalakshiti in Basavanagudi. <br /><br />M R Krishnamurthy, a direct disciple of Rukmini Devi, organises the celebrations every year in March. Says Krishnamurthy, “In the Indian Vedic Dharma, a guru holds a very special place in a person’s life and transforms his disciple through his physical, mental and spiritual presence. Rukmini Devi Arundale, the revivalist of the Bharatanatyam dance, has had great influence through her presence on several people, to whom she imparted this dance form since their early childhood. I have been one of those fortunate persons who have been associated with her from the age of 17.”<br /><br />Krishnamurthy or Kittu Sir as he is fondly called, says, “The days I spent at Kalakshetra, Chennai campus, were the golden days of my life. Rukmini Athai (aunt) not only trained me in the dance form but also showed me the route to bhakti through this art form.”<br /><br />“When we celebrated her birth anniversary at Kalakshiti this year, it was not just me but each one of my students, who dedicated his or her performance to Rukmini Devi, remembering her message to the world. We will constantly strive to carry this art forward with the same chaste, unselfish and pious style.”<br /><br />The festival opened on March 12 with Uday Kumar Shetty and his two disciples performing odissi. Preeti, a student of Kalakshiti, performed kathak and demonstrated a few steps to the audience. <br /><br />On March 13 and 14, the Kalakshiti students performed on the compositions of Rukmini Devi, Krishnamurthy and A Janardhanan, the son of late Chandu Panicker. <br /><br />There were also two new pieces choreographed by Sumana Nagesh, one of the senior disciples of Krishnamurthy. The dance Shri Bhavayami Raghuramam, was based on the famous composition of Swati Tirunal, set to music by Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, in praise of Lord Ram and depicts the episodes in his life. This was performed by senior students — Aparna, Nivedita, Rakshita, Madhuri, Sinduja and Priyatma.<br /><br />The performance on March 14 was based on yet another new composition by Sumana Nagesh. This was an extract from an episode in Srimad Bhagavat Gita. <br /><br />While the role of Draupadi was performed by Divya, the roles of Krishna’s wives were performed by Neeta, Lalitha, Sahana, Amirthavalli and Suma.<br /><br />Hari Prasad from Kalakshetra Chennai was on vocals, Ramesh on mridangam, Nataraj Murthy and Ganesh Kumar on violin and Ganesh on flute. <br /><br />The event concluded on March 15 with a solo performance by Shweta Lakshmanan, a senior disciple of Padmini Rao. <br /><br /></p>
<p>The festival was held from March 12 to 15 at M R Krishnamurthy’s dance school, Kalakshiti in Basavanagudi. <br /><br />M R Krishnamurthy, a direct disciple of Rukmini Devi, organises the celebrations every year in March. Says Krishnamurthy, “In the Indian Vedic Dharma, a guru holds a very special place in a person’s life and transforms his disciple through his physical, mental and spiritual presence. Rukmini Devi Arundale, the revivalist of the Bharatanatyam dance, has had great influence through her presence on several people, to whom she imparted this dance form since their early childhood. I have been one of those fortunate persons who have been associated with her from the age of 17.”<br /><br />Krishnamurthy or Kittu Sir as he is fondly called, says, “The days I spent at Kalakshetra, Chennai campus, were the golden days of my life. Rukmini Athai (aunt) not only trained me in the dance form but also showed me the route to bhakti through this art form.”<br /><br />“When we celebrated her birth anniversary at Kalakshiti this year, it was not just me but each one of my students, who dedicated his or her performance to Rukmini Devi, remembering her message to the world. We will constantly strive to carry this art forward with the same chaste, unselfish and pious style.”<br /><br />The festival opened on March 12 with Uday Kumar Shetty and his two disciples performing odissi. Preeti, a student of Kalakshiti, performed kathak and demonstrated a few steps to the audience. <br /><br />On March 13 and 14, the Kalakshiti students performed on the compositions of Rukmini Devi, Krishnamurthy and A Janardhanan, the son of late Chandu Panicker. <br /><br />There were also two new pieces choreographed by Sumana Nagesh, one of the senior disciples of Krishnamurthy. The dance Shri Bhavayami Raghuramam, was based on the famous composition of Swati Tirunal, set to music by Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, in praise of Lord Ram and depicts the episodes in his life. This was performed by senior students — Aparna, Nivedita, Rakshita, Madhuri, Sinduja and Priyatma.<br /><br />The performance on March 14 was based on yet another new composition by Sumana Nagesh. This was an extract from an episode in Srimad Bhagavat Gita. <br /><br />While the role of Draupadi was performed by Divya, the roles of Krishna’s wives were performed by Neeta, Lalitha, Sahana, Amirthavalli and Suma.<br /><br />Hari Prasad from Kalakshetra Chennai was on vocals, Ramesh on mridangam, Nataraj Murthy and Ganesh Kumar on violin and Ganesh on flute. <br /><br />The event concluded on March 15 with a solo performance by Shweta Lakshmanan, a senior disciple of Padmini Rao. <br /><br /></p>
