United in a universal expression of dance and music

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The recently held “Festival of Young Musicians and Dancers” was an occasion to celebrate the richness and colour of Indian classical music and traditional dance forms. Organised by the Sahitya Kala Parishad along with department of art, culture and languages, Delhi government, the three-day festival brought together varied Indian heritage and the timeless traditions of Indian classical art forms. It was a much-needed break from the over-emphasised Western dance and musical forms that has taken over the young generation.

As the name suggest, the festival gave young and upcoming artistes a platform to showcase their talents in their respective fields. While young singers like Sameer Ahmed Alvi (Sarangi recital), Veethika Tikko (Santoor recital) showcased classical music, Supriya Naik (Odissi dance) and Dakshina Vidyanathan (Bharatnatyam dance) and others enthralled the audience with their dance.
“This festival is very important for us as we envision this platform to act as a foundation for youngsters to become tomorrow’s masters,” said Shanta Serbjeet Singh, vice-chairman, Sangeet Natak Academy.
Young santoor genious Veethika Tikkoo says, “This festival is celebration of young artistes like us, who are dedicated to carry forward the timeless traditions of classical music and dance of India. The roots of Indian classical art forms are very strong, it comprises varied styles of music, rich in ideas and full of colour. Ranging from the rich traditional gharanas to the latest recent blends Indian classical musical covers it all.”
Day One
The festival opened with a high note of soulful music, heart touching notes and rich cultural dance forms, with performances by Sameer Ahmed Alvi (Sarangi recital), Veethika Tikoo (Santoor recital), Supriya Naik (Oddissi dance) and Dakshina Vidyanathan (Bharatnatyam dance).
Dakshina Vaidyanathan belongs to a family of eminent Bharatanatyam dancers. She has undergone rigorous training in her own home Ganesa Natyalaya under the able tutelage of her grandmother Padmasri Guru Saroja Vaidyanathan and her mother Rama Vaidyanathan. “This festival is celebration of young artists who are dedicated to carry forward the traditions of classical music and dance of India,” said Vidyanathan.
Supriya Nayak, who trained in Odissi dance under Padmashri Guru Kiran Segal, is a graduate from St. Stephen’s College. Since her debut in 2006, she has been featured extensively within the country at major festivals. She has been intensively working on dance pedagogy and has also presented lecture-demonstrations on Odissi.
“The credit for my entry into Odissi dance largely goes to my guru. My parents saw her performances a lot and they liked her very much. So they got me into her school. After I saw her dance, it immediately attracted me as I wanted to spend more time practising the nuances of Odissi dance. Slowly it became a part of mine,” says Nayak.
Talking about the uniqueness of Odissi dance, Nayak says, “What makes Odissi unique is its movement, which is very lyrical. And we move our torso in a particular way. While there is a lot of strength and flow in the dance, the literature that we use is written in poems in Oriya.” Though Nayak is happy to see the large number of audience coming to watch the festival, she feels classical dance programmes must be more creative to attract all sections of people. “People need to be made more aware about classical dance programmes, which can only happen if we have more open-air performances. The fact is classical dance needs to be made more accessible to people.”
Day Two
The second day of the festival saw Anubhuti Sharma in Hindustani vocal, Suhel Saeed Khan in sitar recital, Tanuja Devi and Jenia Chanu in Manipuri dance and Amit Khinchi in Kathak dance enthralling the audience. Born in the traditional family of Kathak, Amit Khinchi started his training since childhood from his father Shri Ghanshyam Khinchi. Later he took professional training from his guru Pt. Rajendra Kumar Gangani in Kathak Kendra, New Delhi. Amit has also performed in China, the UAE, Germany etc. Born in Manipur Tanuja Devi had her initial dance lessons at the Performing Arts Centre at Nambol, Manipur.
Day Three
With a vision of youngsters today…masters of tomorrow, the festival concluded on a high note, witnessing a blend of Hindustani vocal and violin recital by Ravi Joshi and Danish Ali, Mohiniattam dance by Swapna Nair and Kuchipudi dance by T. Reddi Lakshmi.
T. Reddi Lakshmi is an exponent of Kuchipudi and established performer amongst the young generation of dancers. She has learnt the classical dance form for the last 15 years under the guidance of Padmashri Jayarama Rao and Vanashree Rao.
Swapna Nair, a Mohiniattam dancer, took training from the government of Kerala art higher secondary and four year senior diploma from Prayag Sangeet Samity. Nair says, “Being a Malayali, learning Kathak or some other form was very difficult for me as I am not really aware about other languages. The expressions and the slow movements in the dance attracted me,” says Nair.