The tiny village of Kuchipudi in Andhra Pradesh came alive as the 58th year 'Siddhendra Yogi Mahotsav', a festival of Indian classical dance was held here between March 10 and 16, 2006.

Held adjacent to the famed temple of Ramalingeshwarar and Balatripurasundari, the festival this year showcased solo performances by well known artistes Leela Samson (Bharatanatyam), Madhavi Mudgal (Odissi), Saswati Sen (Kathak), Bharati Shivaji (Mohiniattam), Priti Patel (Mohiniattam), artistes of Kuchipudi Art Academy, Sasikala Penumarthi and Kamala Rajupet (Kuchipudi).

History of the fest The first Kuchipudi festival here was held in December 1948. It was organised by Sri Lalitha Natya Kala samithi. Since then, it was being conducted annually, in the later years organised by Akhila Bharatha Kuchipudi Natya Kala Mandali, under the leadership of gurus Vempatti Chinna Satyam and Pasumarthi Kesav Prasad.

The fest featured only Kuchipudi all these years and was held in a small way.

This year. . .

This year, Chennai-based Kuchipudi Art Academy was involved in organising the fest. They had support from the Potti Sreeramulu Telugu University, Hyderabad, Sangeet Natak Akademi, New Delhi, South Zone Cultural Centre, Thanjavur, and a few private sponsors. The organisers plan to promote the fest in a big way and add a professional touch to it.

Says Ravishankar of Kuchipudi Art Academy, "The Goddess here is very powerful. The fest is like an offering and the artistes feel blessed when they perform there. This is the first time that we were involved in organising the fest and it was held for a week, featuring well known artistes. Though earlier my father used to send some funds. This time we put up a big stage and arranged the light and sound systems from Chennai. About 10,000 people attended the fest. They came from all the nearby villages, Vijayawada, Hyderabad, Bengal. The senior artistes were put up in Vijayawada, which is about an hour's drive from Kuchipudi. We stayed at a simple accomodation at Kuchipudi, provided by the Telugu University."

Ravishankar says that in the future they want to popularise the fest initially by featuring the top artistes in the country. He says, "The objective is to bring the rich cultural heritage of Kuchipudi to limelight and mark the tiny village on the map of India as an abode of art and a tourist destination.

We also hope that this will encourage more artistes and residents of Kuchipudi to pursue a career in the Kuchipudi artform." The fest also addresses the issue of lack of patronage to the art of Kuchipudi. It is believed that several artistes in the village are struggling to support their families and are compelled to take up alternative careers. And the Mahotsav is an attempt to bring an awareness about the Kuchipudi village at an international level.

An exhibition on the occasion showcased antique jewellery, crowns, costumes, photographs and artefacts, offering a peep into the past, for tourists.

For more info, contact Kuchipudi Art Academy at Ph: 044-24937260. E-mail: info@kuchipudi.com Website: www.kuchipudi.com

The legend of Siddhendra Yogi Siddhendra Yogi, in memory of whom the fest is held, belonged to the 14th century. He is considered to be the founder of the Kalapam tradition. He was married at an early age. After completing his vedic studies at Udupi, he returned to Srikakulam and was known as Siddhendra. On his way, he had to cross a river. As he was struggling to swim across the river, he prayed to God and decided to devote his life to the propagation of Bhakthi, if he was able to reach the other side. Following this, Siddhendra became a sanyasi. Accomplished in Natyashastra, he choreographed the dance-drama 'Bhama Kalapam' and performed it at the village of Kuchipudi (known as Kuchanapudi earlier). The villagers here assured him that they would perform this drama every year and their descendants would preserve the tradition.