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General Buzz 2019
Lectures over Three days: at Kalakshetra
- 26 December 2019
The three-day 'Kala Samprekshana' conference of lectures and demonstrations (Dec.22 - 24) hosted by Kalakshetra on its campus for a first-time visitor or occasional rasika would have been a welcome diversion from the hectic sabha-hopping evening schedules to attend concerts in the city.
Both venues chosen for the lec-dems / talks were special - the famed banyan tree yard in the open and the spacious Rukmini Arangham.
Now lec-dems can also lead into animated debates and lengthy questions and answers and it did so under the banyan one morning where Kalakshetra's students' attendance made for a large gathering. And lent the atmosphere that Kalakshetra always offers.
On Monday morning, the post coffee-break sessions were devoted to the popular and famed Kuravanji dance-drama productions of Rukmini Devi.
Nandini Nagaraj ( who was a student here and is now a full-time faculty member) spoke at length on three Kuravanjis of Kalakshetra - Kutrala Kuravanji, Kannappar Kuravanji and Krishnamari Kuravanji.
Assisted by Kalakshetra's music orchestra and its dancers to present excerpts to illustrate the points she was making, Nandini's lecture took the audience through the core influences on each production, Rukmini's contribution and the evolvement of the productions over the years in her time and the roles of various stalwarts like Tiger Varadachariar, Papanasam Sivan and Karaikal Saradambal and others.
'The Art of Seeing Art' was the theme of this seminar and so, sub-topics ranged from Paavai Koothu and Ariyar Sevai to Bihu Music and Dance and Kalakshetra's weaving heritage. It was curated by Kalakshetra's director, Revathi Ramachandran.
