Japan’s Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko visited Kalakshetra Foundation, as the first stop on their schedule in Chennai on Wednesday. They were greeted by the management of the institution, where they witnessed veena and Bharatanatyam classes. Students of Kalakshetra then put up two performances for them.
The Japanese Imperial couple were greeted by Kalakshetra chairman Gopalkrishna Gandhi, director Priyadarshini Govind and deputy director Karunakara Menon. They were then taken to witness a veena class taught by Vidya Vishwanath, near the lake on the premises.
Next, they witnessed a Bharatanatyam class taught by Nirmala Nagarajan. The class was being held as per Kalakshetra tradition, under the institution’s famous banyan tree.
The students of Kalakshetra then performed two items for the Emperor and Empress at the Rukmini Devi Arangam. The first piece was a scene from Rukmini Devi’s Mahapattabishekam, titled Gandharva Apsara. The scene focuses around a conversation between four apsaras discussing the final battle between Rama and Ravana in the Ramayana.
Male students of the institution later performed a thillana in the Hindolam raga.
imperial stamp for first visit
Coimbatore: Department of Posts will be releasing a Special Commemorative Stamp on first visit of the Japanese Emperor and Empress to India on Thursday. The department would be releasing the stamp in the denomination of `20 featuring Qutub Minar and the Tokyo Tower. It is one of the very rare occasions in Indian Philatelic History when a stamp has been released to commemorate the visit of a dignitary.