Segment : Fringe Festival
Dates : 3rd October, 2009
Venue(s) : Sri Ram Centre, Mandi House

THE 15-MINUTE FRINGE FESTIVAL

The Fringe Festival which was introduced in DIAF in 2008 provides a space for avant-garde and experimental performances and the “fringe” arts, which do not find advocates easily. It also creates a showcase for young talent and a good source of entertainment for children who love puppet films and puppet plays.

Thus, “Fringe” focuses on art forms like puppetry, masks, street arts, magic, acrobatics, storytelling and very short films etc. As a result the experimental work within the mainstream and collaborations between more than one art forms work.

Innovations within art forms often do not see the light of day because such experiments lack performance spaces or because the artists are unable to “test” new ideas with audiences before investing in a full fledged production. The Fringe provides this small but significant space. Each performer has a maximum of 15 minutes on stage, thus giving many artists the opportunity to present a glimpse into their work and also be able to watch the work of other artists. It is also a space where an audience can experience several genres of films, theatre, puppetry, dance and music in just one evening.

T

he Fifteen Minute Fringe began in New Delhi in 2002 and has continued since as an annual event. It has seen 15 to 25 entries each year, ranging from 1 minute films, short animations, Sufi rap, Stand up comedy, Street magic, puppetry, to collaborations between Karnatic classical and Jazz musicians, between Kalaripayattu and Bharatnatyam, Film and Tap dance etc. It aims to bring together artists by facilitating interaction. This has led to collaborations, brought audience feedback for short experiments which have gone on to become full productions and has created a new audience which returns to the Fringe year after year expecting the unexpected. The Fringe audience comprises professional and amateur artists and enthusiasts all of whom engage in dynamic dialogues with the artists that help inform any future work.

The Fringe this year consists of.

• An animation film by Nandita Basu based in many forms & genres
• Puppet Film by Ranjana Pandey wherein traditional moulds of performances are broken using cameras and virtual images.
• Puppet Play by Umesh showing street art and Indian Magic adapted for the stage.
• Storytelling by Ashish Ghosh and Imraan comprise spoken word drama pieces that have a twist of humour and contemporaries classics like Shakespeare to our times. .And much more, all by performers who dare to defy.

About the artists

Ranjana Pandey- Film- This is a short film using rod puppets. The story is a day in the life of a lonely old woman. The tiny rod puppet depicts the loneliness of old age.

Ranjana Pandey is a well known puppeteer, film maker and the founder of Jan-Madhyam. She has used puppets in classrooms, in education, awareness generation and working with differently abled children for the last three decades. She is a faculty member at the Mass Communications Research Centre, Jamia Millia Islamia and the president of UNIMA-India, National Centre of the Union Internationale dela Marionette.

Nitin Das – Music video- Based on the music created by the band Ekum Satyam, Nitin explores images of children from a disadvantaged background, creating, dreaming and hoping!! Nitin Das is a Mumbai based filmaker who has worked on films like the six short stories which was showcased during the Fringe last year. He is an Asia Society Fellow and is about to release his new film “Jaduyi Pankh aur anya kahaniya”……Ekum Satyam is a band formed in the NGO Manzil. A few boys started to meet at Manzil and create music. Now lead by Hemant Kumar it is a full fledged band which creates songs on various social themes.

• 5th -9th October
  Exhibition on “Personal Archives” at National Archives with activities for children.
• 6th October
  National Gallery of Modern Art:
  Australian Photography Exhibition (National Gallery of Modern Art)- Australian Photography Exhibition produced by Melbourne based photographer Michel Lawrence; “All of Us”- a photographic tapestry of people who have made Australia their home.
• 3rd – 13th oct
  – Apparao Galleries presents “INDIA, Documented” an exhibition of Photographs, prints and watercolors by Jyot Bhatt, Raghu Rai, Bruce Peck, Ketaki Seth, Riaz Komu, George K and others.
  Apparao Galleries
  205, Triveni Kala Sangam
  Tansen Marg, New Delhi, Delhi
• 3rd -15th oct
  – Art Alive Gallery presents Sounding Clay, Solo Show of Dipalee Daroz’s ceramic works
  Art Alive Gallery
  S-221, Panchsheel Park
• 3rd- 8th oct
  IHC: Open Palm Court Gallery presents:
  . Exhibition of the works of artist
• 9th – 13th Oct
  IHC:
  . Exhibition of the works of artist Girish Adamnawar
  . Exhibition titled “Unity in Diversity” featuring Anup Kumar Chand, Kishor Ray, Sajan Methu, Shovin Bhattacharya and Shubhra
• 6th- 15th Oct
  Dilli Haat:
  – “India Weaves, 2009: Expo of Indian Handloom and textiles organised by the development Commissioner Handlooms, Ministry of textiles.
• 9th – 7th Oct
  – Gallery Espace presents solo show of artworks by Tanmoy Samanta Gallery Espace, New Friends Colony
• 13th Oct Onwards
  – IHC:
  Visual Arts Gallery presents an exhibition of photographs by Prashant Panjiar, on the theme of “Pan Indian: A Shared Habitat”

Akira Kurosawa Retrospective Film Festival
Entry free

Date	Time	Venue	Film	Duration
3rd Oct (Saturday)	3 pm	Siri Fort 3	Rashomon	1 hr 28 mins
3rd Oct (Saturday)	5 pm	Siri Fort 3	High and Low	2 hr 22 mins
3rd Oct (Saturday)	7.30 pm	Siri Fort 3	Doomed	2 hr 23 mins
4th Oct (Sunday)	12 noon	Siri Fort 3	Sanjuro	1 hr 36 mins
4th Oct (Sunday)	3 pm	Siri Fort 3	Red Beard	3 hrs 5 mins

Bimal Roy Centenary Film Festival
Entry free

Date	Time	Venue	Film	Duration
10th Oct (Saturday)	11 am	Siri Fort 2	Bandini (opening film)	2 hr 37 mins
11th Oct (Sunday)	11 am	Siri Fort 2	Parakh	2 hr 30 mins
12th Oct (Monday)	7 pm	Siri Fort 2	Sujata	2 hr 41 mins
13th Oct (Tuesday)	7 pm	Siri Fort 2	Do Bigha Zameen	2 hr 22 mins
14th Oct (Wednesday)	7 pm	Siri Fort 2	Madhumati	2 hrs 30 mins

Children Film Festival on Walt Disney
Entry free

Date	Time	Venue	Film	Duration
12th Oct (Mon)	9 am	Siri Fort 2	Finding Nemo	1 hr 40 min
12th Oct	11.30 am	Siri Fort 2	Enchanted	1 hr 47 min
13th Oct (Tues)	9 am	Siri Fort 2	Pirates 1	2 hr 23 min
13th Oct	11.30 am	Siri Fort 2	Pirates 2	2 hr 31 min
14th Oct (Wed)	9 am	Siri Fort 2	Pirates 3	2 hr 49 min
14th Oct	11.30 am	Siri Fort 2	Cars	1 hr 57 min

Canadian Film Festival

Date	Time	Venue	Film	Duration
10th Oct (Saturday)	6.45 PM	Siri Fort 2	Men with Brooms (opening)	1hr 43 mins
11th Oct (Sunday)	6 pm	Siri Fort 2	One Week	1 hr 34 mins
12th Oct (Monday)	9 am	Siri Fort 3	Game Over: Kasparov and the Machine	85 mins
12th Oct (Monday)	11.30 am	Siri Fort 3	Too Colourful for the League	52 mins
12th Oct (Monday)	12.30 pm	Siri Fort 3	Hardwood	29 mins
12 Oct (Monday)	2 pm	Siri Fort 3	Waterwalker	86 mins
12 Oct (Monday)	7 p.m.	Siri Fort 3	Le Grande Seduction (Eng. Title: Seducing Dr Lewis)	1hr 48 mins

Segment: FILM FESTIVALS – Children Film Festival by Walt Disney
Dates: 12-14th October
Venue: Siri Fort II
Time and date of the Inaugural film:Siri 12th October 9 a.m.
Opening Film: Finding Nemo
Synopsis of the filmsb>

Finding Nemo
Director: Andrew Stanton
Duration: 1 hr 40 min

A clown fish named Marlin living in the Great Barrier Reef loses his son, Nemo, after he ventures into the open sea, despite his father’s constant warnings about many of the ocean’s dangers. Nemo is abducted by a boat and netted up and sent to a dentist’s office in Sydney. So, while Marlin ventures off to try to retrieve Nemo, Marlin meets a fish named Dory, a blue tang suffering from short-term memory loss. The companions travel a great distance, encountering various dangerous sea creatures such as sharks, anglerfish and jellyfish, in order to rescue Nemo from the dentist’s office, which is situated by Sydney Harbor. While the two are doing this, Nemo and the other sea animals in the dentist’s fish tank plot a way to return to Sydney Harbor to live their lives free again.

Enchanted:
Director: Kevin Lima
Duration: 1 hr 47 min

The beautiful princess Giselle is banished by an evil queen from her magical, musical animated land and finds herself in the gritty reality of the streets of modern-day Manhattan. Shocked by this strange new environment that doesn’t operate on a “happily ever after” basis, Giselle is now adrift in a chaotic world badly in need of enchantment. But when Giselle begins to fall in love with a charmingly flawed divorce lawyer who has come to her aid – even though she is already promised to a perfect fairy tale prince back home – she has to wonder: Can a storybook view of romance survive in the real world?

Pirates of the Caribbean-The Curse of the Black Pearl
Director: Gore Verbinski
Duration: 2 hrs 23 min

Pirates of the Caribbean is a sweeping action-adventure story set in an era when villainous pirates scavenged the Caribbean seas. This roller coaster tale teams a young man, Will Turner, with an unlikely ally in rogue pirate Jack Sparrow. Together, they must battle a band of the world’s most treacherous pirates, led by the cursed Captain Barbossa, in order to save Elizabeth, the love of Will’s life, as well as recover the lost treasure that Jack seeks.

Pirates of the Caribbean-The Dead Man’s Chest
Director: Gore Verbinski
Duration: 2 hr 31 min

Once again thrown into the world of the supernatural, Captain Jack Sparrow finds out that he owes a blood debt to the legendary Davey Jones, Captain of the ghostly Flying Dutchman. With time running out, Jack must find a way out of his debt or else be doomed to eternal damnation and servitude in the afterlife. And as if this weren’t enough, Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann are arrested and sentenced to death unless Will can get Lord Beckett Jack’s compass, who are forced to join Jack on yet another misadventure.

Pirates of the Caribbean-At World’s End
Director: Gore Verbinski
Duration: 2 hr 49 min

Elizabeth, Will and the crew of the Pearl sail off the edge of the map (literally) with the help of mysterious Tia Dalma and the late Captain Barbossa who has been raised by the dead to save Captain Jack Sparrow . He has been condemned to the terrible fate of remaining in the void of Davey Jones’ locker for eternity. But rescuing Jack isn’t the real meat of this movie – Lord Cutler Beckett has control of the heart of Davey Jones, and with that he controls the sea. The nine pirate lords of the world must unite for a final stand against Beckett, Jones and the East India Trade company

 

Cars
Director: John Lasseter

Duration: 1 hr 57 min
Year: 2006

Lightning McQueen is a young, hotshot rookie race car in the last race of the season. At the end of the race, he finds out he is tied with Chick Hicks and The King. On the way to the tie-breaker race in Los Angeles, California, some hot punk cars get him lost in a little town called Radiator Springs on the old Route 66 road, which has been long forgotten many years ago. Scared to death, he tears up the town’s main road and is sentenced to community service by Doc Hudson. During this time, he meets a funny, but lovable tow truck named Mater and a beautiful Porsche Carrera named Sally. He also meets some other cars, whom which he finds to be quite odd. All he wants to do is get out of this town and back into the big city, but as the week until the race goes on, the town folk help him discover that life isn’t just about trophies, fame, and sponsorships and McQueen learns about family and friendship.

 

 

Segment: FILM FESTIVALS – Canadian Sports Film Festival

Dates: 10-12th October

Venue: Siri Fort II & III

Time and date of the Inaugural film: 10^th October 6.45 p.m.

Opening Film: Men with Brooms

 

Synopsis of the Canadian films

Feature Films

 

Men with Brooms

Duration: 1 hr 43 min

Paul Gross stars as the leader of a recently reunited curling team from a small Canadian town. This offbeat comedy follows the team as they work through their respective life issues and struggle to win the championship for the sake of their late coach. Written by Alea Intrica and directed by Paul Gross.

 

One Week

Duration: 1 hr 34 min

 

When a young man is confronted with his mortality, he takes a cross-country road trip on a vintage motorcycle. One Week tells the story of Ben Tyler (Joshua Jackson), in his mid-twenties, who flees from the confines of his life – an impending marriage, a job he’s not entirely happy with and a recent diagnosis – in order to attempt to live more fully. What starts off as an ill-defined venture soon morphs into a quest for the West Coast.

La Grande Seduction (Eng title: Seducing Dr Lewis)
Duration: 1 hr and 49 mins

 

In the little harbour village of Sainte-Marie-La-Maudeme, the vanishing fish stocks have plummeted a once thriving community into decline, forcing the fishermen to rely on government welfare. When a small company considers buiding a factory on the island, the inhabitants see an opportunity for the village to be restored to greatness. But the factory cannot be built without a resident doctor. Seeking to attract the young Dr. Lewis, Germain spearheads the transformation of the village. It’s the beginning of the seduction. While sometimes ruthless and often clumsy, even the most disillusioned villagers rally to the cause. Together and with great dedication they try to convince the doctor that Sainte-Marie-La-Maudeme is the ideal place to be.

 

Documentaries

 

Game Over: Kasparov and the Machine

Duration: 85 min

 

Garry Kasparov is arguably the greatest chess player who has ever lived. In 1997 he played a chess match against IBM’s computer Deep Blue. Kasparov lost the match. This film shows the match and the events surrounding it from Kasparov’s perspective. It delves into the psychological aspects of the game, paranoia surrounding it and suspicions that have arisen around IBM’s true tactics. It consists of interviews with Kasparov, his manager, chess experts, and members of the IBM Deep Blue team, as well as original footage of the match itself.

 

Hardwood

Duration: 29 min

 

Hardwood is a personal journey by director Hubert Davis, the son of former Harlem Globetrottter Mel Davis, who explores how his father’s decisions affected his life and those of his extended family. Elegantly structured into three chapters entitled “love,” “recollection” and “redemption,” Davis uses personal interviews, archival footage and home movies to delve into his father’s past in the hope of finding a new direction for his own. At its core, Hardwood is about the power of redemption and the healing of the bonds between fathers and sons.

 

Waterwalker

Duration: 86 min

 

Canoeist and painter Bill Mason explores the Canadian wilderness to the north of Lake Superior. The filmmaker and artist begins on Lake Superior, then explores winding and sometimes tortuous river waters to the meadowlands of the river’s source.

 

When Hockey Came to Belfast

Duration: 50 min

 

When Hockey Came to Belfast is the striking story of how Canadian ice hockey is transcending religious lines. Bringing Northern Irish youth together in a shared love of the game, the rink gives boys and girls a haven from the turf warfare that pervades their lives.

 

Too Colourful for the League

Duration: 52 min

 

Too Colourful for the League is a (made-for-TV) documentary examining the struggle of blacks in hockey from the 30’s to the present day and the campaign to have Herb Carnegie elected into the Hall of Fame. Carnegie was a black superstar in the 40’s and 50’s who never played in the NHL because of the league’s unacknowledged color bar.

 

Akira Kurosawa’s movies

 

Red Beard:
1965

Language : Japanese

Cast:

This Akira Kurosawa film tells the tale of young Dr. Yasumoto, a recent medical graduate assigned to a rural clinic for his post-graduate medical training. Yasumoto is condescending and arrogant–he is livid that he, who aspires to join the team of physicians caring for the Japanese Shogunate, should have to train in Dr. Niide’s spartan clinic serving the impoverished local population. He finds Dr. Niide, known as ‘Red Beard’, a demanding taskmaster with a brusque manner and intense devotion to his patients. Niide requires nothing less than a monastic lifestyle of his interns. However, gradually Yasumoto is changed by his exposure to Red Beard. He learns the true meaning of being a doctor, seeing patients as real people who are suffering and as individuals whose lives he can improve and heal with his care.

 

Ikiru

English title: Doomed

1952

Language: Japanese
Cast:

Kanji Watanabe is a longtime bureaucrat in a city office who, along with the rest of the office, spends his entire working life doing nothing. He learns he is dying of cancer and wants to find some meaning in his life. He finds himself unable to talk with his family, and spends a night on the town with a novelist, but that leaves him unfulfilled. He next spends time with a young woman from his office, but finally decides he can make a difference through his job… After Watanabe’s death, co-workers at his funeral discuss his behavior over the last several months and debate why he suddenly became assertive in his job to promote a city park, and resolve to be more like Watanabe

 

Rashomon

1950

Language:

Cast:

In 12th century Japan, a samurai and his wife are attacked by the notorious bandit Tajomaru, and the samurai ends up dead. Tajomaru is captured shortly afterward and is put on trial, but his story and the wife’s are so completely different that a psychic is brought in to allow the murdered man to give his own testimony. He tells yet another completely different story. Finally, a woodcutter who found the body reveals that he saw the whole thing, and his version is again completely different from the others.

 

Tengoku to Jigoku (High and Low) (1963)

An executive mortgages all he owns to stage a coup and gain control of the National Shoe Company, with the intent of keeping the company out of the hands of incompetent and greedy executives. He needs the same money, though, to pay the ransom that will possibly save a child’s life. His resolution of that dilemma — the certain loss of the company vs. the probable loss of the child — makes for one distinct drama, and an ensuing elaborate police procedure makes for a second.

 

 

Sanjuro (1962)

In Japan circa Eighteenth Century, nine young men decide to present an accusation of corruption in their clan to the local superintendent. However, the group is betrayed, but the ronin Sanjûrô Tsubaki (Toshirô Mifune) saves them from the superintendent’s men. The uncle of the leader of the rebel clansmen, the Chamberlain Mutsuta (Yûnosuke Itô), is kidnapped, and his wife and daughter are detained and made prisoner of the superintendent, and he tries to force Mutsuta to write a fake confession letter declaring being corrupt. Sanjûrô helps the group to rescue the Chamberlain and his family.

 

 

Bimal Roy Centenary Film Festival

 

Synopsis of films

Bandini

Year: 1963

Language: Hindi | Black & White

Cast: Nutan, Dharmendra, Ashok Kumar

 

Set in the women’s ward of a gloomy prison, the film reveals the tragic circumstances that forced Kalyani to commit a heinous crime for which she is serving a prison sentence. The young prison doctor, a man with progressive views, would like to marry her but Kalyani cannot make her decision. She cares for the freedom fighter who had made a deep impression on her youthful, romantic mind. He promised to marry her and then disappeared until their fateful meeting in a public hospital where she discovers him by accident as a married man. Kalyani’s moral dilemma and her struggle for social legitimacy make a poignant tale of profound significance in a culture where gender justice remains a distant dream.

 

Do Bigha Zameen

1953

Language: Hindi | Black & White | 142 mins

Cast: Balraj Sahni, Nirupa Roy

Sambhu Mahato, like thousands from the Indian rural society, is a poor peasant. For generations, like others, he has tilled the soil. After years of drought, the peasants celebrate the monsoon. Sambhu’s joy is short-lived. The powerful village zamindar, waiting to grab his land, puts up a fabricated case in the moffussil court. This ancestral land is their only source of livelihood. Sambhu is ordered to settle his earlier loans from the zamindar in just three months. Failure to do this will cost him the land. The zamindar’s unreasonable demand only strengthens Sambhu’s determination to save the land. He heads for Calcutta where thousands migrate to earn. The great city overwhelms them. One misfortune follows another. Sambhu lives in a basti with poor migrants. An old rickshaw-puller takes him under his wings and teaches him important lessons to pull the vehicle. Son, Kanhaiya, contributes from his earnings as a shoe shine boy. Sambhu’s wife, Parvati, works as construction labour. With all this help, Sambhu is confident of victory but a serious accident dries up his hard earned funds. In another accident Kanhaiya looses his shoe shine box. They grow desperate as time draws near to pay the zamindar’s loan. After days of illness, when Sambhu resumes work, he is stunned to find the unconscious body of his wife, Parvati – knocked down by a speeding car. Kanhaiya tries his hand at pickpocket and the poor landless peasant’s family reunites once again in the vast metropolis only to realize that their beloved land has gone forever.

 

 

Madhumati

1958

Language: Hindi | Black & White

Cast: Dilip Kumar, Vyjayantimala, Pran, Johny Walker

Landslide forces Devendra (Dilip Kumar) and his doctor friend to take refuge in an abandoned country mansion. In that unlit mysterious place Devendra recalls his previous life and experiences in the same hill station. He remembers how he had fallen in love with the beauty of the hills and with lovely Madhumati, the daughter of a tribal chieftain. Ugranarayan, the dissolute owner of the timber estate where Anand (or Devendra) had worked as the manager abducts Madhumati. The incident drove her to commit suicide. Inconsolable, Anand too commits suicide. As the flashback comes to an end, Devendra’s chauffeur brings news that the road is clear but the train his wife was traveling in had met with an accident. Devendra rushes to the station. His wife, Radha, who resembles his lost love, Madhumati, is unharmed and safe with their child.

 

Sujata

1959

Language: Hindi | Black & White

Cast: Sunil Dutt, Nutan, Shashikala, Lalita Pawar

Sujata, a little infant, is discovered after the outbreak of an epidemic in a Harijan colony. She is adopted by the kind Upendranath Choudhury and his wife, Charu. Sujata becomes a lively companion for their only daughter, Rama. She grows up into a sensitive and charming young woman. Adhir, the nephew of a relative, is being considered a prospective bridegroom for Rama.

Adhir, on the other hand, falls in love with the serene Sujata. This puts the Brahmin family in a terrible quandary. At that point Charu, the foster mother, decides to reveal Sujata’s real identity, to make it public that she is born of low caste parents. Unable to bear the torment and strife in her foster family, Sujata decides to leave. Strange circumstances prove that she is as much a daughter as the biological one – and, it is only Sujata’s blood that can save her foster mother. In the end, all caste prejudices are thrown aside for a happy ending.

 

Parakh

1960

Language: Hindi | Black & White

Cast: Sadhana, Vasanta Chowdhury, Motilal, Durga Khote, Leela Chitnis

The postmaster of Radhanagar, a remote village, receives a. cheque of 5 lakh from one Sir J.C. Roy. The cheque comes with strict conditions. That it should be given to the most honest man of that village. The simple postmaster spends a sleepless night worrying what to do with the cheque. Finally he decides to call a meeting of five village elders and put matters in their hand. The men fail to reach an agreement. Overnight, the peace and quiet of the village is shattered. Greed forces all the powerful men to proclaim their honesty. The poor villagers are confused by the spirit of sacrifice and social service displayed by all the candidates. Only the schoolmaster, Rajat, an active social worker and very popular, does not indulge in such acts of sham bravado. Some try to spread nasty rumors about Rajat. But in the end it’s the fair and honest schoolmaster who is rewarded.

4th- 6th October

7 pm

• Sri Ram Centre
  4th- Bimbavati Devi & Tanushree Das / Manipuri duet
  Urmila Satyanarayan / Bharatanatyam Solo
  Kalashram / Kathak group
• 5th- Vidha & Abhimanyu Lal / Kathak duet
  Vyjayanthi Kashi / Kuchipudi
  Roja Kanan, Priya Murle & N. Shreekant & Group / Bharathi
  in
  Bhartatham- Bharatnatyam Group)
• 6th- Mandakini Trivedi & Miti Desai / Mohiniattam duet
  Dr. Malabika Mitra / Kathak
  Orissa Dance Akademi / Odissi Group

 

Segment: Indian Classical Dance

Dates: 5th October

Venue: Sri Ram Centre

Time: 7 p.m.

Name of the artist: N. Srikanth (Group Performance)

 

Since the age of six, Srikanth has been at home on the stage, first as an actor in the Bhagavata Mela dance drama of Mellattur, Tamilnadu, and then as a dancer in the tradition of Bharatanatyam. Srikanth has trained under several illustrious gurus, including Sri. Shanmugasundaram Pillai, Dr. Saraswati, and Dr.Padma Subrahmanyam. It was at Dr.Padma Subrahmanyam’s institution that he broadened his horizons in the art of Natya. He has also performed with leading dancers like Chitra Visweswaran, Lakshmi Viswanathan, Radha, Krishnaveni Lakshmanan, Malavika Sarukkai, and Anita Ratnam.

 

Srikanth has been a regular performer in the sabhas of Chennai and has performed all over India and abroad. The countries he has performed include Thailand, France, Indonesia, Canada, the U.S.A., U.A.E and Reunion Islands.

 

Srikanth is a graded artist of Doordarshan and an empanelled artist of ICCR. Among other recognitions, he is the recipient of the 1997 Yuva Kala Bharathi Title, 1998 Tamil Nadu Iyal Isai Nataka Manram Award, 2000 Talent Promotion Award and 2001 Award of Excellence, 2005 Lakshmi Viswanathan Endowment for Abhinaya, 2005 Pandanallur Shanmuga Sundaram Pillai Memorial Award and 2006 Nartana Kishora Sundaram. Srikanth has been awarded with the Junior Fellowship from the Department of Culture, Government of India.

 

Srikanth’s total involvement and exact understanding of Natya, through which he brings alive his art, has been widely commended by rasikas and critics alike. In the all-male Bhagavata Mela, he has specialised in performing female roles, such as that of Sita and Devaki. He successfully balances and makes effective use of the Lasya and Tandava aspects in his dance choreography and innovations. His grace and poise have endowed him with with an impressive stage presence.

 

Srikanth has acted in a number of documentary and feature films including ‘Srinivasa Ramanuja’ for BBC, ‘Charukesi’ for ZDF channel, West Germany, ‘Sculptures that come alive’ for the International Film Festival, ‘Ragam Sangeetham’ and ‘Bharatham’ for Raj TV, Chennai, G.V.Iyer’s film Swami Vivekananda and has also danced in ‘Shishu Sadhana’ – a DVD Produced by Kala Bharathi, Canada.

A dancer, actor, and nattuvanar, Srikanth training in music and inherent love for literature add a greater depth to the artiste in him and make him a true exponent of Natya.

 

He has been a part of the following events:

Annual SIFAS Fest, March 2009

Dance and Music Festival 2008-2009

 

 

 

Segment: Indian Classical Dance

Dates: 5th October

Venue: Sri Ram Centre

Time: 7 p.m.

Name of the artist: Priya Murle (Group performance)

 

An accomplished Bharatnatyam dancer Priya Murle divides her time between teaching and performing Bharatnatyam at Shree Bharatalaya and doing research.

A multi-faceted personality, Priya began learning dance from the age of five at Shree Bharatalaya from Padma Shri Dr. Sudharani Ragupathy. She has also learnt Carnatic music from Padma Sri Vidvan Madurai N. Krishnan as well as Sanskrit from Pandit Thangaswami Sharma. Priya has been working at Shree Bharatalaya for 10 years, where she teaches dance and is also involved in choreography. She has given several performances all over India as well as in Europe and America, besides giving lecture demonstrations to students in India and overseas.

Priya Murle. has received numerous awards and certificates, including the prestigious title of “Yuva Kala Bharati” from Bharat Kalachar, and the Bharata Kala Bhushana from Shree Bharatalaya. She was the recipient of the Senior Scholarship for Dance instituted by the Department of Culture of the Government of India. She was also a visiting Professor of Dance at the Government of India Music College, Tamil Nadu, in 1994. She has participated in both the television serials on Dance presented by her Guru, Sudharani Raghupathy. She is a graded artiste of the Doordarshan Kendra, India.

Deeply committed to music and dance, Priya Murle has worked at Sruti – where she is the Executive in charge of the Research & Documentation Centre and the Publication & Audio-visual departments.

 

 

Segment: Indian Classical Dance

Dates: 5th October

Venue: Sri Ram Centre

Time: 7 p.m.

Name of the artist: Abhimanyu and Vidha Lal (Kathak duet)

 

Abhimanyu Lal

Abhimanyu, the son and disciple of renowned Kathak Dance Guru Smt. Geetanjali Lal, is recognized as one of the most accomplished Kathak dancers. The splendour of his brilliant solo performances has earned him applause both in India and other parts of the world. Hailed as a bright star in the firmament of Kathak, Abhimanyu has received acclaim as a dazzling dancer by the media and connoisseurs of art.

He has performed at the highest level in India and abroad in many prestigious dance festivals. He has performed in Croetia, Oslo, Netherlands, France, Germany, Italy, Austria, Nepal, Switzerland, South Africa, Seychelles Island, Reunion Island, Tanzania, Egypt, Fiji Island, Myanmar, Mauritius and Turkey. He has the honour of performing for the prestigious festivals organised by Central Sangeet Natak Akademi, National Institute of Kathak, New Delhi and Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR).

 

Some of his major performances in India and abroad include:

“Nritya Pratibha”, organized by Kathak Kendra, New Delhi in 1999.

“Maharana Kumbha” Udaipur in 2000.

Horizon”organized by I.C.C.R. New Delhi 1999.

“Swarnotsava”, organized by Sangeet Natak Akademi, New Delhi.

“Ganatantra Mahotsava”, Guwahati, Assam, 2001.

“Amnesty International”- Holland in 2001.

“A duet with Flamenco dancer for “Dance Caravan” The Hague, 2000.

Kathak Performance, The VeemTheater, Amsterdam 2002.

Choreography and Performance for International Dance Theater, Amsterdam 2003.

Percussie Festival, Amsterdam 4th June, 2001.

“Hindu Diwas” organized by The Indian Embassy, Holland, Sept. 2002

Lille Carnival – France, June 2003.

Indian Independence Day Celebrations, Fiji, 2005.

Concert tour to Egypt, Seychelles, South Africa, Tanzania and Reunion Island, ICCR tour – 2004.

Kathak Mahotsava, Nehru Centre, Mumbai, 2007.

World Dance Day Celebrations, “Lasya”, Mumbai, 2007.

Jammu Festival, 2007.

Rain Drops Festival, Mumbai, 2007.

 

About Vidha Lal

Vidha Lal, a multi-facated Kathak exponent is the disciple of renowned Guru Geetanjali Lal of Jaipur Gharana. A recipient of merit scholarship of Kathak Kendra, the National Institute of Kathak, New Delhi, Vidha has emerged as a rising star in the field of Kathak. She is an empanelled artist of Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) and ‘A1 grade artist of Delhi Doordarshan.

Vidha has earned great acclaim in the media and from connoisseurs for her brilliant solo performances in India and abroad.

 

Some of her memorable performances include

Kathak Mahotsava, Mumbai – 2007

World Dance Day Celebrations, “Lasya” Mumbai-2007.

Jammu Festival-2007.

64th SCAL Congress meet, Chennai.

“SharadVaibhav”, Bangalore.

WorldTourism Day, Old Fort New Delhi.

Yuva Mahotsava, Sahitya Kala Parishad, New Delhi.

Kathak solo for Ambassadors’ wives Association at Brazilian Embassy, New Delhi.

Kathak Festival at Pune, Goa and Bhopal

Lachhu Maharaj Samaroh (Kathak Festival ‘2007, Lucknow

Music & Dance Festival organized by Rai Foundation, Bhubaneshwar, Orissa’2007

Dance Festival organized by Kala Nadam at Chowdiah Memorial hall, Bangalore in 2007

Kumbal Garh Dance Festival 2007, Udaipur, Tourism of Rajasthan

Incredible India @ 60 in New York, USA at Lincoln Center in 2007.

2nd Ministerial Conference at Ashoka Hotal, New Delhi, organized by Ministry of Home Affairs.

 

 

Segment: Indian Classical Dance

Dates: 5th October

Venue: Sri Ram Centre

Time: 7 p.m.

Name of the artist: Abhimanyu and Vidha Lal (Kathak duet)

 

Abhimanyu Lal

Abhimanyu, the son and disciple of renowned Kathak Dance Guru Smt. Geetanjali Lal, is recognized as one of the most accomplished Kathak dancers. The splendour of his brilliant solo performances has earned him applause both in India and other parts of the world. Hailed as a bright star in the firmament of Kathak, Abhimanyu has received acclaim as a dazzling dancer by the media and connoisseurs of art.

He has performed at the highest level in India and abroad in many prestigious dance festivals. He has performed in Croetia, Oslo, Netherlands, France, Germany, Italy, Austria, Nepal, Switzerland, South Africa, Seychelles Island, Reunion Island, Tanzania, Egypt, Fiji Island, Myanmar, Mauritius and Turkey. He has the honour of performing for the prestigious festivals organised by Central Sangeet Natak Akademi, National Institute of Kathak, New Delhi and Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR).

 

Some of his major performances in India and abroad include:

“Nritya Pratibha”, organized by Kathak Kendra, New Delhi in 1999.

“Maharana Kumbha” Udaipur in 2000.

Horizon”organized by I.C.C.R. New Delhi 1999.

“Swarnotsava”, organized by Sangeet Natak Akademi, New Delhi.

“Ganatantra Mahotsava”, Guwahati, Assam, 2001.

“Amnesty International”- Holland in 2001.

“A duet with Flamenco dancer for “Dance Caravan” The Hague, 2000.

Kathak Performance, The VeemTheater, Amsterdam 2002.

Choreography and Performance for International Dance Theater, Amsterdam 2003.

Percussie Festival, Amsterdam 4th June, 2001.

“Hindu Diwas” organized by The Indian Embassy, Holland, Sept. 2002

Lille Carnival – France, June 2003.

Indian Independence Day Celebrations, Fiji, 2005.

Concert tour to Egypt, Seychelles, South Africa, Tanzania and Reunion Island, ICCR tour – 2004.

Kathak Mahotsava, Nehru Centre, Mumbai, 2007.

World Dance Day Celebrations, “Lasya”, Mumbai, 2007.

Jammu Festival, 2007.

Rain Drops Festival, Mumbai, 2007.

 

About Vidha Lal

Vidha Lal, a multi-facated Kathak exponent is the disciple of renowned Guru Geetanjali Lal of Jaipur Gharana. A recipient of merit scholarship of Kathak Kendra, the National Institute of Kathak, New Delhi, Vidha has emerged as a rising star in the field of Kathak. She is an empanelled artist of Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) and ‘A1 grade artist of Delhi Doordarshan.

Vidha has earned great acclaim in the media and from connoisseurs for her brilliant solo performances in India and abroad.

 

Some of her memorable performances include

Kathak Mahotsava, Mumbai – 2007

World Dance Day Celebrations, “Lasya” Mumbai-2007.

Jammu Festival-2007.

64th SCAL Congress meet, Chennai.

“SharadVaibhav”, Bangalore.

WorldTourism Day, Old Fort New Delhi.

Yuva Mahotsava, Sahitya Kala Parishad, New Delhi.

Kathak solo for Ambassadors’ wives Association at Brazilian Embassy, New Delhi.

Kathak Festival at Pune, Goa and Bhopal

Lachhu Maharaj Samaroh (Kathak Festival ‘2007, Lucknow

Music & Dance Festival organized by Rai Foundation, Bhubaneshwar, Orissa’2007

Dance Festival organized by Kala Nadam at Chowdiah Memorial hall, Bangalore in 2007

Kumbal Garh Dance Festival 2007, Udaipur, Tourism of Rajasthan

Incredible India @ 60 in New York, USA at Lincoln Center in 2007.

2nd Ministerial Conference at Ashoka Hotal, New Delhi, organized by Ministry of Home Affairs.

 

 

Segment: Indian Classical Dance

Dates: 4^h October

Venue: Sri Ram Centre
Time: 7 p.m.

Name of the artist: Bimbavati Devi (Manipuri duet)

 

Bimbavati Devi, being the daughter of renowned classical Manipuri dancers, Guru Bipin Singh and Smt. Kalavati Devi, was initiated into the world of dance and music at a very tender age. Besides dancing, she has also undergone training in Pung (Manipuri mridang) playing and Thang Ta (Manipuri martial art). As a solo artiste and as a performing artiste of Manipuri Nartanalaya, one of the pioneer institutions of Manipuri dance in the country founded by her parents and the well-known Jhaveri sisters, she has performed in various prestigious dance programmes and festivals of India and abroad.

 

She counts amongst her notable performances: the Khajuraho Festival, Konark Festival, Swami Haridas Sangeet Sammelan, Vrindavan Sharadotsav, Uday Shankar Festival, Nishagandhi Festival, Vishwa Banga Sammelan, Soorya Festival, Kal-Ke-Kalakar, Ghungroo Festival, Temple Festival, Dances of India Festival, programmes organized by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), India International Centre (IIC – New Delhi), India Habitat Centre (New Delhi), Asia Festival in Helsinki (Finland), Nehru Center in London (England), Banga Sammelan in Lowell, Festival of India organized by the Asian Dance and Music Program, University of Massachusetts, workshops and lecture demonstrations at North Dakota State University and University of Massachusetts, Lotus Studio in NY (USA), Toronto, Edmonton and Calgary (Canada), program and workshop organized by the National Aesthetics Society in Singapore and workshop at National University of Singapore.

AWARDS

• Recipient of Junior and Senior National Scholarship in Manipuri Dance from the Department of Culture, Govt. of India.
• She has also received the title of Shringar Mani conferred by Sur Singar Samsad, Mumbai.
• Recipient of Nandita Kripalini Award from West Bengal State Academy of Dance, Drama, Music an Visual Arts, Government of West Bengal.
  Empanelled artist with the ICCR.
• Awarded the Sanskriti Award by Sheila Dikshit, CM Delhi on behalf of Sanskriti Foundation, New Delhi 2004 for being one of the upcoming and promising dancers and choreographers.

 

 

Segment: Indian Classical Dance

Dates: 6th October

Venue: Sri Ram Centre

Time: 7 p.m.

Name of the artist: Aruna Mohanty (Group Performance)

 

Devotion, perseverance and commitment have placed Aruna Mohanty as the finest among Odissi dancers of her generation. Nurtured under the able guidance of Guru Gangadhar Pradhan, Aruna especially excels in the abhinaya aspect of Odissi. She has been a student and Secretary of Orissa Dance Academy. Her unique skill and versatility make her the recipient of many awards and accolades, including the Mahari Award 1997, Sanjukta Panigrahi Memorial National Award 2001, Fellowship by Ministry of HRD, Govt. of India, and an award for her contribution to the field of Odissi Dance, from the Utkal University, Orissa. Apart from dance, Aruna has also established herself as an excellent choreographer. Some of the items in her repertoire include the dance ballet “Shrusti O Pralay”, “Varsha Abhisara”, “Shravan Kumar”, “Samrat Kharavela” & “Kanchi Abhijan” etc.

 

Widely travelled to countries like Canada, USA, South America and some of the European countries, she is the advisor-member of Central Sangeet Natak Akademi, New Delhi.

 

Web: http://www.orissadanceacademy.org

 

 

Segment: Indian Classical Dance

Dates: 6th October

Venue: Sri Ram Centre

Time: 7 p.m

Name of the artist: Malabika Mitra (Solo performance)

 

Starting from a tender age of three years and a solo Kathak performance at the age of eleven, Malabika has made dance a part of her life. Trained in Jaipur and Lucknow Gharanas under eminent Gurus for over 14 years, she has evolved a strong individual style combining the technical brilliance of Jaipur Gharana and tender grace of Lucknow Gharana.

 

She has performed at several major festivals of India which include Apna ‘Utsav’, ‘Kathak Mahotsav’, Khajuraho Dance Festival’, Konark Dance Festival’ in India and in abroad at ‘Saanskritik Festival’, Edinburgh Festival’, ‘Womad Festivals’, UK, ‘Festival of India in USSR, ‘Grande Festival of Granada, ‘Festival ASIA of Barcelona in Spain, ‘Festival of Cite de la Munique at Paris, ‘Diwali Festival in Poland and other programmes in Germany, Bangladesh.

 

She has choreographed and directed a number of dance ballets for Doordarshan besides being its top grade performer. Her choreographed experimental solo items include ‘Meghdoot’, ‘Jhulan’ and ‘Prem Seema Hote Aseeme’ (based on series of Tagore’s poems and songs) and ‘Uma Tapasya’ – Gatbhav based on Kumarasambhava of Mahakavi Kalidas etc.

 

Malabika has conducted over 250 lecture demonstrations for several Indian schools and colleges organized by SPIC-MACAY. She has been also teaching students in her own institution Sibpur Onkar Dance and Music Centre as associated with the Centre as Principal for the last 50 years.

 

She has been awarded with:

• SHIROMANI AWARD, Asian Paints
  SINGARMANI AWARD, Sur-Singar-Samsad , Bombay
• ABHINAVA KALA SAMMAN, Abhinava Kala Parishad, Bhopal
• MAHAKAL SANGIT RATNA, Madhukali, Ujjain
• SENIOR FELLOWSHIP in the field of Kathak (1997) Ministry of Human Resource Development, Department of Culture, GOI, New Delhi

 

 

Segment: Indian Classical Dance

Dates: 4^h October

Venue: Sri Ram Centre

Time: 7 p.m

Name of the artist: Urmila Sathyanaraynan (Bharatnatyam – solo)

 

Urmila Sathyanarayanan is perhaps the brightest among the new generation of Bharatnatyam dancers. She is among the most inspired and dedicated Bharatnatyam exponents of her times with dancing experience of over three decades. Nimble movements and the pristine purity of her expressions, helped by her intrinsic charisma and irrepressible cheerfulness, create spellbinding magic, holding the watcher in thrall. Her dedication to dance is total and Bharatnatyam is richer by her experience, expertise and most importantly devotion.

 

She has been trained under the guidance of eminent gurus ‘Padmashri’ K.N. Dandayauthapani Pillai, Kalaimamani Smt. K.J. Sarasa and Padmabhushan Smt. Kalanidhi Narayanan.

 

Since her debut in 1976, Urmila has presented dozens of recitals in India and abroad and earned excellent reviews from eminent critics. She has danced in practically every dance festival in India.

 

She has toured Europe and USA extensively and participated in the ‘Festival of India’ at Edinburgh. Titles and awards apart, her dedication to the art is total. Bharatnatyam is richer by her experience, expertise and most importantly devotion. Restless with her achievements in the field Urmila soon founded her own institution, the “Natya Sankalpaa” and is actively engaged in imparting training to aspiring students.

 

She has been an intrinsic part of the following concerts:

National

• The Festival of Dances, New Delhi
• Khajuraho Festival of Dance
• Konark Festival, Orrisa,
• The Sangeet Natak Festival, Assam
• Danced at the Ganges Festival, Varanasi
• Festival of Dance, Goa
• Malabar Mahotsava, Kerala
• Nishangandhi Festival, Kerala
• Citibank Festival of Dance Kalakshetra Foundation etc.
• Celebration of the Golden Jubilee of Indian Independence, Government of
• Tamil Nadu
• Golden Jubilee Celebrations of the Shanmukhananda Sabha, Mumbai
• Brahmotsavam, Tirumala
• Inauguration of Ravindra Bharati, Hyderabad
• The ICCR, New Delhi
• SPIC Macay – “Yamini Festival”

 

International

• Festival of India’ Edinburgh – 1999
• ICCR Egypt, Switzerland, Germany, Holland, Norway, England.
• Toured France for Triveni 1999 and 2004.
• Sutra Dance Festival, Malaysia 2001.
• Toured the United States of America and Canada for
• Kalalaya in 2003, 2005
• Academy of Tamil Arts and Technology, Canada 2002.
• Neelam Tiruchelvan Trust, Muthukrishnaswami Mission
• Sri Lanka (2002).
• Royal Tropical Institute, Netherlands, 1999-2000, 2006
• Tamiz Sangam, Dubai 2003
• Dance India Taste India Festival, Temple of Fine Arts,
• Australia 2002
• SIFAS, Esplanade, Singapore April 2005.
• Sangeetham Festival, Saddlers Wells, London June 2006.
• Muthukrishna Swamy Mission, Sri Lanka 2002
• ICCR South Africa, Centenary of Salt Sathyagraha in
• Johanesburg in the presence of Honble Prime Minister of
• India and South Africa.

 

Thematic Presentations

 

‘Potana Bagavatham’

‘Panchali Sapatham’ – Musical Score by Lalgudi G Jayraman

Woman – ‘Past, Present, Future’ – highlighting the status of the Indian Woman of the past, present & in the future.

Programs based solely on the compositions of Thyagaraja, Annamacharya, Swati Thirunal etc.

Bhakti Manjari – Facets of Bhakti

Vaishnava Barati – Highlights the Important Vaishanva Shrines across the country

‘Bharati’s Dream of an independent India’

‘Rama Rasanubhavam’ – excerpts from Arunachala Kavi’s ‘Ramanatakam’

 

 

 

Segment: Indian Classical Dance

Dates: 5th October

Venue: Sri Ram Centre

Time: 7 p.m

Name of the artist: Vyjayanthi Kashi (Solo Kuchipudi)

 

Vyjayanthi Kashi’s career spans an impressive spectrum of performance, choreography, therapy, teaching and research. Her solo dance recitals have revealed a distinctive style of which has been said that “the expressions of the face of Kashi are so good that is seems they make one wonder. Every single muscle is following her.”…Gesten Verdichtet, Germany.

 

Her works has been featured in several international festivals including the Oriental Dance Festival Germany, Festival of India in Africa, India Film Festival in Malaga, Olympus Festival in Italy, the dance and music festival in US, International Dance & Music Festival in Egypt, Malta, Tunisia, Karmiel Dance Festival in Israel and many more. She serves on the Arts and Cultural Committee of the Ministry of Tourism and Cultural, Government of India. She has been honored with several awards including Kala Shree, Zee Astitva, Araya Bhatta and Vocational Excellence Awards.

 

Vyjayanthi is a frequent presenter at international dance conferences and symposia. Her film and television credits include documentaries and interviews in the broadcasting media. She is a regular motivational speaker and workshop leader, speaking on Arts and life, dance and yoga, therapy and body language, creativity and collaborations in the arts. She serves on the Art & Cultural Committee of the Govt of India, Ministry of Culture.

 

With a vision to promote artistic and professional excellence, she founded Shambhavi School of Dance in 1993 and trained many dance aspirants round the world

 

 

Segment: Indian Classical Dance

Dates: 6th October

Venue: Sri Ram Centre

Time: 7 p.m.

Name of the artist(s): Miti Desai and Mandakini Trivedi (Mohiniattam duet)

Miti Desai trained in graphic design at the Sophia College Mumbai and thereafter completed her training in Design from the Portfolio Centre in Atlanta, USA. In spite of several awards, medals and accolades that she received in the field of Graphic Design, the world of Dance strongly beckoned.

The urge to feel body design and internalize the principles of design led her to Dance. At Nateshvari Dance Gurukul, a dance school run by Mandakini Trivedi, Miti discovered her passion to dance, to move and to express in the Mohiniattam form. Miti`s dance is marked by a fluidity of lines, an inner grace and deep understanding of form.

She was awarded the Singar Mani title at the Kal Ke Kalaakar Sammelan (2006).

 

 

Segment: Indian Classical Dance

Date: 4th October

Artistes: RK Singhajit and Charu Shija Mathur

Venue: Kamani Auditorium

Time: 6 30 pm

 

RK Singhajit

Belonging to a family of great dancers and musicians of Manipur, initiated at an early age, and trained by eminent Gurus, Rajkumar Singhajit Singh is indeed a personification of a living culture in all its facets. Known for great mastery of the art and complete dedication, he has distinguished himself as an outstanding performer, choreographer, scholar and artiste of great creative ability, his is a unique representation of creative work in chaste traditional Manipuri Dance.

As pioneer of Manipuri ballet he has choreographed thirty-five ballets and numerous dance compositions which have won international acclaim. During the last several world tours, his dances have received tremendous appreciation for elegance, dignity, purity, variety and originality.

 

Charu Shija Mathur

Her name is synonymous with Manipuri Dance. Belonging to a famous cultural minded family of Delhi Charu Sija Mathur is one of the brightest stars in the firmament of Manipuri Dance. Her works reflect the extremely rich traditions of Manipuri culture and her presentations are marked for their great elegance, maturity, sensitivity and sophistication.

Equally adept in both balletic and solo works, she has been captivating audiences the world over and receiving rave reviews from the very beginning of her career.

For this dedicated artiste the promotion and propagation of Manipuri Dance has become almost a crusade. She is also seriously engaged in teaching dance to advanced students and involved in the research of this art form in all its aspects.

She has played the lead roles in 35 Manipuri ballets. Some of her memorable roles have been in productions like Shakuntala, Savitri, Sita and Ingel-Lei.

DANCE PRODUCTION – VANDE MATARAM

 

Choreographed by Prathibha Prahlad

Salutation to Mother and the Motherland

India’s top Classical dancers from across the country come together to make a collective creative offering to the Mother & Motherland – Prakriti in a truly pan Indian classical dance production dedicated to Mother or Prakriti. Prakriti as the creative principle contains within herself all power and finite embodiment. Prakriti is the “force” or “power” (shakti) of all activity in the phenomenal, empirical world illumined by the pure consciousness of Purusha. Prakriti or nature symbolizes eternal resurgence, as it has no end but only a beginning, reflecting a kind of divine prodigality in its myriad creations.

Vande Mataram is a unique dance production that salutes Prakriti in its finite and infinite forms. While paying obeisance to the Motherland, Bharat or India, Vande Mataram also delineates the various aspects of the Eternal Mother – Kali, Tara, Sodasi, Bhuvaneswari, Chinnamasta, Bhairavi, Matangi and Kamala.

Kali

Kali represents the Primordial energy – adi shakti, the principle of time and the creative energy hidden in the dissolution of the destruction of the Universe. She is the progenitor of the minutest and the biggest force in the Universe, pervading in all the inanimate and animate beings.

Kali is performed by Guru Shashadhar Acharya in Chhau style. Guru Shashadhar Acharya, is one of the Country’s leading Chhau performers and teachers and for his contribution in popularising Seraikala tradition of Chhau in the Indian Performing Arts, he has been conferred the Central Sangeet Natak Akademi Award.

Tara

Tara meaning “star” is seen as a beautiful but perpetually self-combusting creation. Tara is perceived at core as the absolute, unquenchable hunger that propels all life. Her grace carries the devotee across the ocean of the Universe and bestows the highest bliss on them. Because of this she is called the saviour of the Universe.

Tara is depicted by Prathibha Prahlad, one of India’s leading Bharatanatyam exponents. Prathibha’s various roles as a performer, teacher, choreographer, arts crusader and her enviable experience in the print and television media give her a winning quality that is hard to compare.

She has been conferred the prestigious Central Sangeet Natak Akademi Award by the President of India.

Sodasi

Sodasi also called Sundari symbolizes the power of consciousness – Chita Shakti, the light within the triangle of being (i.e. Body, Speech & mind) and the essence of the three worlds.

Sodasi is performed by Smt.Ranjana Gauhar in Odissi style. Ranjana Gauhar is one of India’s leading Odissi exponents. Besides performances she also has to her credit independent film productions Sri Geeta Govind and Odissi Chandrika. She is a recipient of the prestigious Padmasree Award by the President of India.

Bhuvaneshwari

Bhuvaneshwari is associated and identified with the energy underlying creation. She embodies the characteristic dynamics and constituents that make up the world and that lend creation its distinctive character. She is both a part of creation and also pervades its aftermath.

Bhuvaneshwari is performed by Guru Singhajit Singh and Smt. Charu Sija Mathur in Manipuri style Gurus Singhajit Singh and Charu Mathur are today synonymous with the Manipuri style of dance. Reputed as great masters of the art form, their contribution as performers, choreographers, & scholars have earned them the respect and love of the art fraternity.

Their awards include the Central Sangeet Natak Akademi Award. Guru Singhajit Singh is also a recipient of the prestigious Padmasri Award

Chinnamasta

Chinnamasta or Prachanda Chandi is also represented as Kundalini Shakti. The Pratyalidha posture in which she appears conveys reality as an amalgamation of sex, death, creation, destruction and regeneration. It is stunning representation of the fact that life, sex, and death are an intrinsic part of the grand unified scheme that makes up the manifested universe.

Chinnamasta is performed by Guru Sadanam Balakrishnan in Kathakali style Guru Sadanam Balakrishna singular contribution in popularizing the form of Kathakali in Northern India and the world over is unparalleled. He is a recipient of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 2003. He founded the International Centre for Kathakali and also has to his credit two books on Kathakali called `Kathakali’ and `Kathakali – A Practitioner’s Perspective.’

Bhairavi

Bharavi also identified with Kalaratri, refers to a particularly destructive aspect of Kali. She is also identified with Mahapralaya, the great dissolution at the end of a cosmic cycle. She is the force that tends toward dissolution. Destruction is apparent everywhere, and therefore Bhairavi is present everywhere.

Bhairavi is performed by Guru Sri Jayarama Rao and Smt.Vanasaree Rao in Kuchipudi style. Renowned Kuchipudi maestros Jayaram Rao and Vanashree Rao are recognized today as outstanding exponents of the Kuchipudi style of dance. Recipient of the Padmasri and the Central Sangeet Natak Akademi awards, their institution Kuchipudi Dance Academy has produced some of the leading exponents of Kuchipudi style of dance today.

Matangi

Matangi, the bestower of all boons, is the patron of inner thought. She guides her devotee to the uncaused primordial sound. Matangi is performed by Rajendra Gangani in the Kathak style

Rajendra Gangani is a leading Kathak dancer of national & international repute. He is the son and disciple of the renowned Jaipur gharana Kathak Guru Kundanlal Gangani. Gangani excels in is currently the head Guru of Jaipur gharana at Kathak Kendra, New Delhi

Kamala

The name Kamala meaning “she of the lotus” is a common place epithet of Goddess Lakshmi and is linked with three important and interrelated themes: prosperity and wealth, fertility and crops, and good luck. Kamalatmika is the Goddess Devi in the fullness of her graceful aspect. She is shown as seated on a lotus, symbol of purity.

Kamala is performed by Sharodi Saikia in Sattriya style

Sharodi Saikia, today synonymous with the Sattriya dance form, was singularly responsible for presenting a distinctive repertoire for solo presentation of sattriya dances performed usually by a group of monks or sattras. Through her institution Rangayan, she strives to popularize the art form among the masses. She also has to her credit innumerable publications on Education, Women & Development themes, in addition to her writings on Sattriya tradition.

Vandemataram

Concept: Prathibha Prahlad

Mother, I bow to thee!
Rich with thy hurrying streams,
bright with orchard gleams,
Cool with thy winds of delight,
Dark fields waving Mother of might,
Mother free.

Thou art wisdom, thou art law,
Thou art heart, our soul, our breath
Thou art love divine, the awe
In our hearts that conquers death.
Thine the strength that nerves the arm,
Thine the beauty, thine the charm.
Every image made divine
In our temples is but thine.

Vande Mataram has 10 leading Indian classical dancers performing in eight different classical dance styles all beautifully blended to project a common theme. It is a multi-style dance production that is truly pan Indian and images the concept of Unity in Diversity eloquently.

The total duration of the production is One hour fifteen minutes.

Name of the artist(s): Slava and Leonard Grigoryan Brothers

Segment: Artistic Voices from India and Commonwealth Countries

Date: 6th October 2009, Time: 6.30 p.m.

Venue: Kamani Auditorium, Copernicus Marg, Mandi House

Performance: Classical Guitar

Country: Australia

Slava and Leonard Grigoryan are Australia’s foremost guitar duo, and widely known internationally. The Grigoryan brothers have been performing professionally as a duo for 8 years (they have been playing together since Leonard was 4 years old). This partnership has taken them around Australia many times.

They have also performed in Russia, Austria, Estonia, Japan, Malaysia, South Africa the UAE, and had their Wigmore Hall debut in London in 2006. They have released four duo CDs: Distance 2009, Impressions 2007, Rodrigo Concertos 2006, Play 2003

As a duo they have worked with the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, the Queensland Symphony Orchestra, The Academy of Melbourne and performed at the Melbourne International Festival of the Arts and The Brisbane Festival.

Although having performed much of the standard repertoire for two guitars, their passion is to expand the classical guitar repertoire through new arrangements, commissions and collaborations with contemporary composers as well their own compositions.

Coming from an eclectic musical background, improvisation has always been an important part of their musical language. This combination of influences sets their performances apart from other classical ensembles attracting a very diverse audience.

They have received rave reviews to their performances in Australia and abroad. This would be their first visit to India and they are very enthusiastic about building links on the subcontinent.

http://www.grigoryanbrothers.com

Name of the artist(s): NAFRA band

Segment: Artistic Voices from India and Commonwealth Countries

Date: 7th October 2009; Time: 6.30 p.m.

Venue: Kamani Auditorium, Copernicus Marg, Mandi House

Performance: music band

Country: Malta

The NAFRA ensemble is a major international exponent of Malta’s music heritage. Since 1999 Ruben Zahra has been committed to the revival of traditional Maltese instruments with particular interest in the Maltese bagpipe: iż-Żaqq. In 2004 he established the NAFRA ensemble with a music programme which portrays a local Mediterranean identity embellished by the unique sonority of Maltese traditional instruments.

The NAFRA ensemble is very different from a regular folk band. All members of the ensemble have a strong classical background with the technical dexterity to perform complex scores. NAFRA often collaborates with larger groups such as chamber ensembles, brass bands and even symphony orchestras with a music programme that transposes folk music to a contemporary idiom.

NAFRA has been invited to perform in major international music events from Tunisia to Hong Kong. Music by NAFRA is featured on various music record labels as part of world music compilations. The music of NAFRA explores the sounds of a culture which is uniquely interesting in view of Malta’s position as a ‘cultural crossroad’ of the Mediterranean.

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