HEAVEN DESCENDS ON EARTH AT DELHI TAMIL SANGAM

The programme began with the customary lighting of the lamp by the Chief Guest Ambassador Shri J. C. Sharma. As many as 110 disciples from 3rd year to PG levels performed exquisite Classical and Semi classical dances with live orchestra.

The performance began with a keertanam on Ma Durga by 5th level students. This was followed by the tiny tots who enthralled the discerning audience by presenting Swagatam Krishna. The third level disciples presented Pushpanjali, dedicated to Lord Ganesha – the remover of all obstacles. Many aspects of Nritta were then presented in the traditional way.

The students also presented Thodyamangalam – an invocatory piece in which Lord Vishnu is praised and described in His avatars of Rama and Krishna. The next item was Nritya Kalpana – presenting exquisite dance movements to imaginative fusion music, while adhering to the strict technique of Bharatanatyam. The next piece was the song Shankara Srigiri nath Prabhuke composed by Maharaja Swati Tirunal and presented in Hindi. It depicted Siva as the wonderful God who dances in the golden stage of Chidambaram. Dhinak Dhin Dhin was the next item in which Krishna and His exploits with His friends were brilliantly portrayed.

Later the laghu Varnam – the central piece of a Bharatanatyam recital – based on the Dasavataras was presented by senior Degree and PG level students. The Dasavataras represent the ten incarnations of Lord Vishnu and also represent the evolution of Man from Pisces or Fish to the mammal Human being. The stories and incidents leading to the avatars Matsya, Koorma, Varaha, Narasimha, Vamana, Balarama, Rama, Krishna, Buddha and Kalki were magnificently illustrated in this item.

The next piece was Siva Panchaksharam in which Lord Nataraja lifts his left leg and dances in the temple of Chidambaram with His consort Parvathy. Geetupadesh which followed was the beautiful piece on Lord Krishna describing how Krishna gave us the Gita, lifted the Govardhan to protect his Bhaktas and also played with the gopis. The next piece in Hindi, dedicated to Jesus Christ was Love is God and God is Love, signifying that there is no language barrier when presenting an art from such as Bharatanatyam. The Bharatanatyam performance concluded with the Thillana, followed by Mangalam.

The accompanying artistes were Guru Smt. Kanaka Sudhakar on the Natuvangam, Shri Vinod on the vocal, Shri C. Srinivasan on the violin and Shri T. Keshavan on the mridangam.

Earlier the Chief Guest spoke encouragingly about the artistes and the Guru. He stressed that Indian classical dance forms like Bharatanatyam enable personality development of the artiste at a young age and gives her confidence and poise to face interviews later in her career. He also suggested that parents of the students may be given an orientation training of appreciation in Bharatanatyam, in order to create awareness among them about the significance of their daughters’ efforts in this art form. The students from Prarambhik to Alankar, who scored highest marks in the exams conducted by Akhil Bharatiya Gandharva Mahavidhyalaya Mandal, Miraj in 2012 were awarded the Venkatarama Iyer Award of Excellence by the Chief Guest. Eight children who performed Arangetram were also awarded. The students who participated in today’s grand function were presented with certificates and mementos. The evening concluded with a vote of thanks followed by dinner.