HYDERABAD: Showing immense dedication towards their art form and executing it immaculately, the students of Natya Tarangini performed a number of acts as part of their 16th-anniversary celebrations at Ravindra Bharathi recently. Adding movement, synchronisation and visual experience to some of the well-known songs in Sanskrit, Telugu and English, the students brought in fresh delight to the spectators. Inaugurating the session, Raja Reddy hailed the heritage of Indian classical dance and praised the willingness of youngsters to imbibe these art forms within them.
Natya Tarangini was initially established in 1976 by Padma Bhushan awardees Raja and Radha Reddy, for the promotion of the Kuchipudi style of classical dance in North India. Following which, the Hyderabad chapter was established in 2007 by their daughter Yamini Reddy, also a popular Kuchipudi dancer. This year marks the 16th anniversary of the Hyderabad school.
Jayesh Ranjan, Principal Secretary of the Industries & Commerce (I&C) and Information Technology (IT) Departments of the Telangana government, presided as Chief Guest at the event.
After lighting of the lamp by the guests, the show started with Ganapati Vandana followed by some Sanskrit slokas performed by tiny tots. The next act was Jati Swaram, which contained pure nritya and left the process of interpretation to the audiences. This was followed by Dasavatharam, depicting the ten avatars of Lord Vishnu, which was executed with great efficiency, each avatar, and the accompanying mythological story depicted through music and dance, evoked motivating responses from the audience.
Another lovely act by the tiny tots was the English song, My heart is a temple, which Kausalya Reddy explained, was choreographed for Yamini Reddy when she was eight years old. A unique act was seen in Manduka Shabdam, which were essentially, ‘forest stories,’ also performed by the kids.
Another version of Dasavatharam, but rather in a more colloquial way, was seen through the act performed to one of Annamacharya’s Samkirtana, who was a 15th century Telugu poet.
Then came the Salaam Jatis, something distinct to the region with its history of Nizams. The final act was Tarangam, meaning waves, composed by the devotees of Krishna, song after song, like waves in a river. This act was personally choreographed by Yamini Reddy.
The Reddys are known for their contribution to the cause of spreading Kuchipudi dance form to other parts of India and to the world. They inaugurated the India Festival in Bangladesh.
Raja and Radha Reddy became the first couple in history to receive Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan award individually and other awards such as the Sangeet Natak Academy award, International Meridian award etc.