Bengaluru’s leading cultural centre, Sri Rajarajeshwari Kala Niketan, celebrates its Golden Jubilee, marking fifty years of its fruitful existence, with a grand extravaganza of performances known as the Samanvaya Arts Festival on 19 September at the iconic Chowdiah Memorial Auditorium in Malleswaram, Bengaluru. The morning session will begin at 9.30 am and the evening session at 5 pm.
Founded by Dr Veena Murthy Vijay, Sri Rajarajeshwari Kala Niketan has been engaged in the promotion and teaching of Indian classical arts for several decades. Over the years, the institution has trained hundreds of students and organised dance festivals, workshops and performances, providing young artistes opportunities to engage with India’s classical artistic traditions.
To commemorate this special occasion dedicated to dance, rhythm and storytelling, the morning session begins with Adavu Jam, a celebration of movement and rhythm pertaining to the foundational vocabulary of Indian classical dances, followed by dance presentations. The evening unfolds with a double bill of two full-length dance dramas that would take the audience on a journey between the earth and the heavens — Satyabhama and Apsara.
The Adavu Jam sessions will feature students of Guru Veena Murthy Vijay in Kuchipudi, Indian contemporary dance by Aayana Dance Company, students of Parswanath Upadhye and Anuradha Vikranth, along with Yakshagana by Krishnamurthy Thunga. Another highlight will be a dance drama presented by the students of Guru Anitha Guha.
Satyabhama presents one heroine depicted through four classical dance forms — Bharatanatyam by Lakshmi Gopalaswamy, Kathak by Vidha Lal, Mohiniyattam by Gopika Varma and Kuchipudi by Dr Veena Murthy Vijay, with Mysore B. Nagaraj as the Sutradhara. The production brings different classical vocabularies together in the portrayal of one of the most celebrated heroines of Indian mythology.
Apsara begins with a Pushpanjali by MPA students of MLA College, followed by Shama Krishna in Kuchipudi, Ranjitha S. in Bharatanatyam and Rohini Prabhat in Kathak. Suvin Prasad appears as Narada and G. Pavan Kumar as Indra.
The Apsaras, represented through different dance styles, will be portrayed by Pallavi Manjunath, Pratheesha Kashi, Shubha Chethan, Mudra Dhananjay, Vandana Supriya and Kavya Kashinath.
The Golden Jubilee festival is curated by the soul of Sri Rajarajeshwari Kala Niketan, Dr Veena Murthy Vijay, with music by Praveen D. Rao, script by Arjun Bharadwaj and lighting by Surya N. Rao. The festival is supported by the Ministry of Culture, Government of India, and the Academy of Music, Bengaluru.
Among the distinguished guests expected at the festival are Dinesh Gundu Rao, Shatavadhani Dr R. Ganesh, Guru Nandini Ramani, Dr Nagmani Srinath, Aneesh Rajan from the Ministry of Culture, Kathak exponents Nirupama and T.D. Rajendra, Shubha Dhananjay, Chairperson of the Karnataka Sangeeta Nritya Academy, and Carnatic vocalist Dr Pustakam Ramaa.
On the occasion of the Golden Jubilee, the Samanvay Puraskar will be presented to Guru Revathi Ramachandran, Guru Anitha Guha and Dr Hamsini Nagendra, adding another significant dimension to a celebration that marks five decades of Sri Rajarajeshwari Kala Niketan’s journey in the arts.
