BENGALURU: Dance and music lovers, here’s a virtual treat for you. The 24th national festival of music and dance has gone online. For the last 23 years, this festival – held by Delhi-based Natya Tarangini, of Kuchipudi dancers Raja, Radha and Kaushalya Reddy, in collaboration with United Nations India – has been featuring top dancers and musicians. This year, the festival, which features Dr Balamuralikrishna, Vyjyanthimala Bali, Alarmel Valli and Kishori Amonkar, can be viewed online on Raja Radha Reddy’s YouTube and on UN in India’s website.
The Reddys have put-together some performances recorded in past festivals. The virtual launch was inaugurated by Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu and Renata Dessallien, UN Resident Coordinator India. The GMR Group and its chairman Mallikarjun Rao are the sponsors. “Parampara means lineage in Sanskrit. It means uninterrupted series of succession. With this series, we want to instill hope and solidarity in everyone,” says Raja Reddy.
It will include performances by Pt Hariprasad Chaurasia (flute), Vyjayanthimala Bali (Bharatanatyam), L Subramaniam (violin) and Vikku Vinayakram (ghatam). The programmes go live on YouTube, every weekend till Nov. 22. (The writer is a city-based dance critic)