Come Saturday you would be able to watch a maestro set the stage on fire with his feet drumming up a beat on the floor as he uses his feet extensively in his narrative. The King of Kathak, Pandit Birju Maharaj, who is being felicitated by the Visakha Music and Dance Academy would also be giving a demonstration of Kathak.
The dance maestro will be visiting and giving a demonstration on the occasion of his felicitation but also would return to stage a ballet - Kathak Yatra - along with his disciples on August 15.
Aptly called the King of Kathak, Pandit Birju Maharaj is an epitome of a traditional form of narrative that exclusively depends on the quick movement of the feet and economical movement of his hands and head. The jingles on his feet only highlight the extraordinary effort of the 75-year-old guru of Lucknow Gharana during the performances that have mesmerised audience across the globe.
It is our good fortune that such an eminent performer has accepted our proposal to felicitate him with a citation, a Swarna Kamalam and Rs 1 lakh, founder president of VMDA CSN Raju explained to the media here on Sunday. The dance guru has not only agreed to accept the felicitation but also was willing to bring his troupe and perform at whatever compensation the VMDA gives, trustee and secretary G R K Prasad (Rambabu) said.
The weeklong festival of dance and music would be inaugurated by Governor of Tamil Nadu K Rosaiah on Saturday evening at 5:30. After the felicitation Pandit Birju Maharaj would give a demonstration of Kathak, to be followed by a Kuchipudi ballet Prakriti Rakshati Rakshitaha by Deepika Reddy. Incidentally Deepika Reddy is a student of late Vempati China Satyam and also of Pandit Birju Maharaj.
On Sunday there would be a Carnatic concert by Unnikrishnan and on Monday by TM Krishna. City-based Ramavarapu Madhuri Devi would give a Veena recital on Tuesday. On Wednesday Vidushi Kalavati Avadhoot of Bengaluru would give a Carnatic concert. After a Kathak ballet on Thursday on Friday a pouranic dance drama Srikrishna-Narakasura would be staged.
Tickets for each day’s performance are priced at Rs 50 and a season ticket for seven-days is priced at Rs 300, Rambabu said.
