Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu said the government would soon come out with a welfare scheme for nearly 250 Kuchipudi masters who are struggling to eke out a living. He promised to extend all possible support to children interested in learning the ancient dance form Class VII onwards.
Delivering the inaugural address at the fifth International Kuchipudi Dance Convention jointly organised by the Department of Language and Culture and Silicon Andhra here on Friday, Mr. Naidu said Kuchipudi had stolen the hearts of dance lovers through the ages and that the government would spare no effort to restore its past glory.
The government was committed to promoting not just Kuchipudi but the rich treasure of Telugu language and culture which won for the State a global recognition.
Mr. Naidu further said the people were fortunate that Tirumala, the abode of the Lord of Seven Hills, was situated in the State. They were equally gifted to belong to the place where Kuchipudi was born.
Reminding the audience of the provision of Rs.100 crore by the State government for the promotion of Kuchipudi, Mr. Naidu said the construction of capital city Amaravati offered an excellent opportunity to showcase to the world the richness of Telugu arts and culture.
He would do the needful for use of Telugu in the government offices once the committee led by Deputy Speaker Mandali Buddha Prasad submits its report.
Supreme Court judge, Justice N.V. Ramana said it would be good to have all official correspondences in government offices and courts made in Telugu also for the sake of public convenience, and hoped the classical dances would have a brighter future.
A.P and Telangana High Court judge, Justice V. Ramasubramanian said Indian arts, music and dance had an element of divinity because of which they did not fade into oblivion.
Yamini Krishna Murthy, Raja Reddy and Radha Reddy, Swapna Sundari and Sobha Naidu among other renowned Kuchipudi exponents underlined the need for protecting the dance form that was gifted by Siddhendra Yogi centuries ago.
They wished that Amaravati should be the grand centre-stage from which classical dances like Kuchipudi regain their prominence. Mr. Buddha Prasad, Ministers Palle Raghunadha Reddy, Devineni Umamaheswara Rao and Kollu Ravindra spoke.
Silicon Andhra founder Kuchibhotla Anand said over 6,000 Kuchipudi dancers will take the stage on Sunday in an attempt to get into the Guinness Book of World Records.
