2nd Day of 12th Year "Visesha Kala Poshakam Utsav" 2018

The “Mylapore Trio” Amarnath, Surendranath, Aparna & Sugathan (Kalakshetra Alumni and Cultural Ambassadors of Mylapore) and Members of Sri Sumukhi Rajasekharan Memorial Foundation conducted the 12th Year Spectacular “Visesha Kala Poshakam Utsav” - International Art Festival for Dance in Mylapore. It was a 5-day Natya Utsav from 1st to 5th February, 2018 at Narada Gana Sabha, Chennai. The “Mylapore Trio” & Sugathan felt the need to expose the talents of many unsung heroes outside India & Abroad and hence provided a FREE PLATFORM to them. Dancers from all over gave Solo Performances all through the week. Most of them were First Timers to perform in Chennai. The Trio and Sugathan have been instrumental in giving them an opening in Chennai and that too with no tags, strings and hidden agenda. Shri Sugathan – Secretary organised the Festival with great fervour.  The Natya Utsav was a confluence of various dance forms of India viz., Bharatanatyam, Kuchipudi, Mohiniyattam, Kathak & Odissi, all under one roof – a posse of colourful flowers and bouquets. On all 5 days Sugathan presented the Programme enthusiastically & passionately. Smt. Meenakshi Sundaram and Yogesh Sundaram offered their contributions towards the Venue of this Festival.

Smt. Savithri Jagannatha Rao – Director “Pradakshina” & a Kalakshetreyan, was the Chief Guest. She aptly lauded the cultural services of the “Mylapore Trio” and Sugathan in encouraging the unsung heroes without expecting anything in return. She also rightly said that the “Mylapore Trio” has become “Mylapore Quartet” including Sugathan. She was amazed to see the talents of the dancers and blessed them all and wished the Natya Utsav a grand sucess. Smt. Revathi Sankkaran, Smt. Prema Krishnamurthy also graced the occasion and blessed the Artists, also appreciated the yeoman services of the Mylapore Trio and Sugathan in promting Art and Culture true to its spirit, with great passion and endeavour. All Foundation Members were present in Colourful Traditional Attire, with a colour scheme for every day.

Second day of the Natya Utsav started with a Kathak recital by Shruti Apte from Pune, which was lively. Next was K. Satya Sivani from Huderabad, presented an energetic Kuchipudi performance which was traditional, authentic and her Tharangam was remarkable.

This Natya Utsav provided a golden opportunity for the Artists for their Maiden performance in Chennai. All the Artists were honoured with a Certificate of Appreciation by the Foundation. They all presented themselves with gorgeous relevant costumes and jewelry representing their Dance Form. The dance items of these Artists were exceptionally good which were very vibrant and made the Rasikas always sit erect. The Big Audience Crowd included Men, Women and Foreign Nationals, apart from many Children from Pre-Kg to College level. These young Rasikas were exposed for the first time to such different dance forms and were amazed to watch the Artists with awe. The hall full crowd was a Big Surprise to the Dancers which boosted them to perform with much more enthusiasm and vigour.