HYDERABAD: With hands dancing in the air and feet tapping rhythmically to the floor, the audience’s attention was ensnared by the stage. Dancers adorned in vibrant traditional attire, mesmerised the crowd with their performance of the popular Ramadas kirtana ‘Paluke Bangaramayena,’ as part of the ‘Sri Rama Namam-Entha Ruchi Ra’ presentation by Dr Ananda Shankar Jayant at the three-day multi-art festival, ‘Ramayana Kalpavrksam.’ Held at the CCRT campus in Madhapur, this festival, presented by Shankarananda Kalakshetra & Natyarambha in collaboration with Brhat, offered a diverse array of arts, performances, talks, and book releases, catering to all ages.
Curated by the renowned dancer Padma Shri Ananda Shankar Jayant, the second edition of ‘Ramayana Kalpavrksam’ featured a galaxy of esteemed artistes from across the country, including Chitra Visweswaran, Karthick Iyer, Vinay Varanasi, and Vivek Sadashivam. The festival showcased world-class performances by Shankarananda Kalakshetra and Aayana Dance Company, alongside thought-provoking talks and discussions by Dushyant Sridhar, Swati Goel Sharma, Shefali Vaidya, Nupur Sharma, and Pankaj Saxena. Additionally, art workshops conducted by Dr Anupama Kylash and Uday Shreyas, Lakshmi Ambady enriched the festival experience.
Reflecting on the essence of Ramayana Kalpavrksam, Dr Ananda Shankar Jayant said, “I started it last year to bring together the different strands of our cultural inheritance and heritage under the larger umbrella of Ramayana. So we had scholarship. We had talks, we had performances, both classical and popular. And we had a lot of workshops for youngsters and kala grama market and all that. So this year we have scaled it up a bit in the sense we have again a three-day event. So this time we are having the talks and the discussions and the performances in the same evening session. The idea being that you can’t separate culture and scholarship. It’s all integrated. So this is a method of bringing all kinds of art together.”
Inaugurated by Sri Tridandi Chinna Srimannarayana Ramanuja Jeeyar Swamiji, the festival offered both enlightenment and entertainment to attendees. The festivities commenced with a captivating dance production by Shankarananda Kalakshetra, narrating the life story of Bhakta Ramadas, beautifully choreographed by Dr Ananda Shankar Jayant. The performance, interwoven with Ramadas kirtanas, engaged the audience throughout.
The subsequent day began with ‘Ramayana in warp and weft,’ a talk session by Shefali Vaidya about Ramayana on textiles, painting, weaving, and embroidery. Followed by a panel discussion on ‘Svayambodha and Shatrubodha’ by Nupur Sharma in conversation with Pankaj Saxena. An interesting storytelling and music session on Sri Rama Raksha by Vinay Varanasi and Vivek Sadasivam. The festival also featured a dance production by Aayana Dance Company.
Talking about the festival, Vinay Varanasi said, “Dr Ananda Shankar Jayant has supported and given me an amazing privilege to be a part of Ramayana Kalpavrksam two years in a row. Seeing this idea from its inception until now, where it is blooming so steadily in everyone’s hearts reminds me of the power of a pure intention.”
The final day of the festival was marked by a book release, ‘Babur-The Chessboard King,’ and a talk session by Dushyanth Sridhar, and IndoSoul music by Karthick Iyer. Overall, the festival was an area of interest for every age group, woven with all possible arts celebrating Rama.