Organisations must continue to create performance opportunities for artists, said Jayant Kastuar, secretary, Sangeet Natak Akademi.
Speaking at the 2010 Awards function of The Sruti Foundation here on Saturday, he said, “Chennai has been a patron to great arts down the ages.” He lauded the role of organisations and Sabhas in the city after the traditional institutions of temples and durbars were not able to create opportunities for performance of artists.
Historian V. Sriram said that Chennai represented a cultural continuum. He stressed the need for retaining dance in its cultural form.
Accepting the E. Krishna Iyer Medal in recognition of “her outstanding contributions to Bharatanatyam in a distinguished career spread over seven decades,” Vyjayantimala Bali said gurus in the city gave her the strong foundation in the dance form. “Bharatanatyam has enriched my life,” she added.
The citation was read out by V. Ramnarayan, Editor-in-Chief, Sruti . The citation said: “Vyjayantimala had her first brush with fame when she danced as a five-year-old in the presence of the Pope and received his blessings at the Vatican. She was the first Indian dancer to be invited to perform at the United Nations in 1969.
Prominent venues
Other prominent venues where she performed include Sydney's Opera House, the Adelaide Festival, the Royal Opera Rallst Festival, Stockholm and the Holland Festival. She also championed the cause of the weaker sections of society as an elected member of the Lok Sabha and nominated member of the Rajya Sabha.”
Veena exponent Padmavathy Ananthagopalan received the Vellore Gopalachariar Memorial Award and Narada Gana Sabha Secretary R.Krishnaswami got the M.Venkatakrishnan Memorial Award.
