The “Mylapore Trio” AMARNATH, SURENDRANATH, APARNA & SUGATHAN (Kalakshetra Alumni and Cultural Ambassadors of Mylapore) and Members of Sri Sumukhi Rajasekharan Memorial Foundation conducted the 11th Year Spectacular “Visesha Kala Poshakam Utsav” - International Art Festival for Dance in Mylapore. It was a 5-day Natya Utsav from 27th to 31st January 2017 at Tag-P.S.Dakshinamurthi Auditorium, Mylapore, Chennai. This Natya Utsav was in Commemoration of Sri. Rajasekharan and Smt. Sumukhi’s 100th Birth Anniversary. The “Mylapore Trio” felt the need to expose the talents of many unsung heroes outside Tamilnadu and hence provided a Free Platform to them without sponsors. Dancers across India gave solo and group Performances all through the week in Mylapore. The Natya Utsav was a confluence of various dance forms of India viz., Bharatanatyam, Kathak, Odissi, Kuchipudi, Mohiniyattam all under one roof – a posse of colourful flowers and bouquets.
THE HIGHLIGHT OF THE NATYA UTSAV WAS “PANCHA PRAKRITI”- A THEMATIC BHARATANATYAM by Foundation Secretary and “VERSATILE ARTIST” Chi. SUGATHAN MOHANDASS – (a Multi-Talented and a Multi Faceted Dancer). He Created History by Presenting A FIVE ELEMENTS OF NATURE DEPICTING FIVE COLOURS ON FIVE DAYS.
Sugathan Mohandass described the 5 aspects of Nature along with the stories of Panch Bhootha Sthalams. On the inaugural day he began with Prithvi - representing Green Nature and Mother Earth - Kanchi Sthalam in which he described about divine wedding Lord Ekambareeswarar and Goddess Kamakshi.
Sugathan performed to a live orchestra for the krities composed by Muthuswamy Dikshitar - Vocal by Smt. Jayanthi Santhosh, Mridangam - Shri. Venkat Subramanian, Violin - Shri. Ananthulal. All his dances were highly enthralling, captivating, and charismatic and soul stirring engrossed with Bhakthi. His costumes and jewelry on all 5 days were very much stunning and significant, aptly representing the 5 elements of nature.viz green, blue, white, red and black. His Bharatanatyam recital was filled with excellent Abhinaya & Bhaavaa and soaked with emotions and bhakthi. The audience which included the parents, children and of course some foreigners and NRIs from Sweden, Germany, Italy and Korea have all became ardent fans of Sugathan. They come every year from abroad to this spectacular Natya Utsav, especially to watch him perform various dances styles. Special mention must be made to Shri. Raja Mahadevan from Germany and Italy and Shri. Lars Fredricksson who hails from Sweeden and a lives a Mylaporean during the season. Both of them are ardent fans of Sugathan and they presented the Certificate of Appreciation to him.
On the First day, the first performance was by Meghna Venkat & her disciples (Nritya Nadam) from Bangalore gave an excellent & neat Bharatanatyam recital followed by a group Mohiniyattam performance by Swathy Mohan, Amrita & Syama from Sri Sankaracharya University. Kalady, Kerala, was graceful & elegant.
This Natya Utsav provided a golden opportunity for the artists for their Maiden performance in Chennai. All of them presented themselves with gorgeous, authentic costumes and jewelry representing their State and culture. The dance items of these artists were exceptionally good which were very vibrant and made the audience always sit erect. Lastly, Unlike in Other Sabhas, Where the Halls are empty even during the Season, the Big Audience Crowd present everyday to cheer, was a Big surprise to the Artists which boosted them to perform with much more enthusiasm and vigour. All the Artists were honored with a Certificate of Appreciation by the Foundation.
The Five day Natya Utsav was a spiritual journey visiting all the holy places, worshipping great Gods like Ganesha, Padmanabha, Jaganath, Rama, Krishna, Shiva and the Goddesses Durga, Lakshmi, Saraswathi, through the Keerthanams, Javalis, Padams, Thillanas by the Damsels. The Trio emphasized the importance of Spirituality & Bakthi through these Art Forms & at the same time stressed the need to promote Cultural History. All the Foundation members presented themselves in a traditionally gorgeous manner in a variety of costumes to suit the occasion. Indeed the festival was a spectacular treat to the eyes, ears and soul of the Rasikas. Altogether it was a “Bhaarata Natya Utsav”.
On this occasion 215 Children from kids to teens, who participated in 18 competitions based on the theme ‘Nature’ under three categories viz., Performing Arts, Fine Arts, Academic Arts in the 15th Year “Marghazhi Bala Utsavam” received their Prizes, Medals, Certificates and Special Prizes from the seasoned Performers on all these 5 days. These children were motivated to be the young Rasikas to witness these spectacular dances, which was a feast to the entire young mind. A bunch of foreign Nationals from Sweden, Italy and Germany were part of the audience on all the days.
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