Commendable work by Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan kendras

Serving the cause of our culture and heritage has been one of the major areas of work undertaken by the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan over the decades.

- Nandini Ramani

Some of its Kendras outside Chennai, which have dedicated themselves to the promotion of culture, particularly the performing arts, have been noteworthy in recent times.

Coimbatore

The Coimbatore Kendra under the chairmanship of Krishnaraja Vanavarayar, assisted by a committed team of individuals like Gurumurti of Perur Natyanjali, Kalyani Sankar, Radha Ramani, and Suryanaryanan, have been organising for the past 16 years, a major dance festival focussing on theme-based creative works, giving opportunities to local as well as outside groups. Dr. Usha Rajaram, Director of this Kendra, herself a trained dancer from Baroda University, is an able head and co-ordinator of the training programmes.

The 17th edition of this dance festival was held in November 2016, for three consecutive days with the “Rivers of India” as the theme. The inaugural event included an award ceremony where this writer was honoured with the title of Natya Ratna. It was followed by a neat Bharatanatyam solo by Bhavan’s staff teacher, Sherene George (a Kalakshetra alumnus).

Chaturmukhi was presented by four male dancers of Bengaluru—hailing from different dance schools—who came together under their own banner Tandava, the vibrance. They created an amazing impact with their skilful group choreography, displaying ample potential and perfect coordination. The talented quartet consisting of Somasekhar Chudanath, Kartik Datar, Srinivas Rajendran, and Anant Nagaraj are established Bharatanatyam dancers also trained in contemporary arts by Maya Rao at the Natya Institute of Kathak and Choreography. Their presentation led the audience into a joyful journey of music, movement, and mime.