Nimble feet, delicate expressions and deft karnas by a host of performers left a lasting impression on devotees and art connoisseurs who thronged Brahan Natyanjali, the international dance festival, staged at the famed Sri Brihadeeswarar temple (Big Temple) in Thanjavur recently.
It was verily a delectable dance propitiation of the Lord by the performers who made it a memorable event for its duration of seven days from Mahashivaratri. The Brahan Natyanjali Foundation conducted the event with the active support of the South Zone Cultural Centre and the Palace Devasthanams, Thanjavur.
This year a total of 55 troupes involving around 600 senior and upcoming artistes from various parts of India and abroad performed traditional dances including Bharathanatyam, Mohiniattam, Kuchipudi, Kathak and Odissi.
Some of the more popular artistes who took the stage or guided their students at this edition of the Brahan Natyanjali included Geetha Venkateswar, Mumbai, Padma Murali, Bangalore, G. Padmaja Reddy, Hyderabad, Smitha Rajan, Ernakulam, Rukmini Vijayakumar, Bangalore, Bharat Charan Giri, Bhubaneswar, V Krishnamoorthi, New Delhi, Jayanthi Ramachandra, Coimbatore, Chinnamanur A. Sujatha, Dindugul, Ashim Bandhu Bhattacharjee, Kolkatta, V. Balagurunathan, Chennai, and B.K. Shefeekudeen, Thrissur.
This year saw the participation of teams led by Jeya Sanggari Jayakumar from Malaysia, Pradeep Prakash from Dubai and Akila Subramaniyam from the United States, besides other overseas participants.
The participation variety and width reflected the growing stature of the Brahan Natyanjali Dance Festival as a prestigious event of Thanjavur for which Brahan Natyanjali Foundation president V. Varadarajan and secretary S. Muthukumar had made elaborate arrangements. Mementos and certificates were presented to all the participants
Senior Prince S. Babaji Rajah Bhonsle, who is also the Hereditary Trustee of the Thanjavur Palace Devasthanams, Joseph Dhairiyaraj, Director (in charge), South Zone Cultural Centre, Thanjavur, R. Gunasekaran, Joint Director, Department of Art and Culture, P. Chandrasekaran, Conservation Assistant, Archaeological Survey of India, Thanjavur Sub-Circle, and others spoke at the valedictory.
