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| Celebrating Padma Subrahmanyam By Aruna S. / Chennai |   | |||
 A household name, when one thinks of classical dance - Dr. Padma Subrahmanyam had two big reasons to celebrate early this month - the golden jubilee of her dance career and the diamond jubilee of the dance school, Nrithyodaya (founded by her father and film maker, late K. Subrahmanyam). And to mark this occasion a nine-day fest, titled 'Nritya Navaratri Mahotsavam' was hosted in Chennai, and it attracted a huge audience.
Inagurating the fest on June 28 was Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Dr. J. Jayalalithaa. One hundred students of Nrithyodaya, from India and abroad, presented a cultural programme that evening. Later, Jayalalithaa said she felt relaxed, witnessing the show! Temple for Bharathamuni
A book on 'Karanas' authored by Padma was also released by the Chief Minister. The book, which is the third volume in a series, has been funded by the Government of Tamil Nadu. The Chief Minister was also full of hugs and praise for Padma and recalled their childhood days as students of dance guru Vazhuvoor Ramiah Pillai.
Honours for artistes
The next day featured Bharatanrityam by Jayahsree Rajagopalan and her students from Mumbai, a piece by Sundari Santhanam and artistes of Bharata Nrityasala, Bangalore and a performance by Dr. Padma herself. On this day, dance gurus Prof. Sudharani Raghupathy and Prof. C.V. Chandrasekhar were honoured. Chitra Visweswaran and V.P. Dhananjayan, who are both touring the U.S now, were represnted by their students. Book on Karanas
On July 2 evening, dancers from Coimbatore, Udumalpet, Malaysia, Dubai and India went on stage, besides excerpts from another production 'Pavai Nonbu'. The chief guest on this day was the Union Minister for Culture, Jagmohan. Viralimalai Kuravanji - A crowning moment...
The concluding day began with a speech by Swami Dayananda Saraswathi in the morning. Tamil Nadu Governor, P. S. Ramamohan Rao, presided at the finale, when a special postal cancellation and cover to mark the diamond jubilee of Nrithyodaya, was released. Also on this occasion, sabha secretaries Krishnamurthy, K.S. Venkatraman, Rajagopal, N. Srinivasan, Ravi and Soorya Krishnamoorthy were honoured. This was followed by the dance drama 'Viramalai Kuravanji' featuring Dr. Padma Subrahmanyam, Uma Shriram and actress-dancer Shobana. And here, Padma as Kuravanji and Shobana as Suratavalli simply stole the show. Says Kannan, nephew of Dr. Padma and Secretary, Nrithyodaya, "We wanted to gather all our students from various parts of the world and we did it. We worked for the satisfaction of not just ourselves but the rasikas." Saya Baladevi Chandrasekar from New Jersey, "It was a big family get together. We could meet our friends, juniors and seniors after several decades and it was wonderful to be here." Nrithyodaya is at No.6, 4th Main Road, Gandhi Nagar, Chennai 20, India. E-mail: kannanveena@hotmail.com Celebrating Padma Subrahmanyam - Click here for a slide show | ||||
Also, on this occasion, sabha secretaries and senior art critics were honoured. The chief minister presented citations to R. Krishnaswami of Narada Gana Sabha, Mrs. Y.G. Parthasarathy of Bharat Kalachar, A. C. Muthiah of Tamil Isai Sangam, Natrajan of Nungambakkam Cultural Academy Trust, Yegnaraman of Krishna Gana Sabha, S. Parthasarathy of Thyaga Brahma Gana Sabha, P.N. Panneerselvam of Natyanjali Trust, Nagapatnam and art critics V.A.K. Ranga Rao, K.S. Mahadevan and R. Srinivasan.