The annual Khajuraho dance festival, held against the backdrop of the temples, offers a visual treat to the visitors, who come here to witness the various dance forms presented by artistes from across the country. While for the rasikas, watching performances in such an aesthetic setting is a delightful experience, for the artistes too it is a great opportunity. The writer, a Chennai-based dance teacher, shares her experience of performing along with her team at the festival this year.
Our joy was boundless on being selected, only group from Tamil Nadu, to perform at the Khajuraho Festival 2018 - a dream come true! Accompanied by my sister Maya Shyam Sunder and our disciples Hema Tharuna, Kirti Katherine, Avanthika, Harshitha, Subhiksha and Kaavya, we were on our way to Khajuraho.
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Words cannot express the aura and grandeur of the evening sky against the backdrop of the Lakshmi temple. The stage was charged with energy, which inspired every artiste to give their best.
The morning sun and the chill air greeted us as we stepped down from the train, the Sampark Kranti Express. We had to fly to New Delhi and take an overnight train to Khajuraho. The almost deserted roads reminded me of my childhood visits to the village.
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Fascinating setting
Our morning was spent at the stage in order to familiarise ourselves with the lighting and the ornate settings. The temple loomed in the background as we rehearsed in the winter sun, which shone brightly. Familiar with the setting we went back to prepare for our show at 6.30 p.m.
The beautiful spectacle of the sunset formed the backdrop for our performance and right from the first step on the stage everything was perfect and magical. It was as if some force took us on this wonderful journey on the stage.
Being a few days after Sivaratri we chose to perform a Pushpanjali in ragam Malayamarutham followed by the Siva Panchakshara stotram moving into the celebrated ‘Nadanam Aadinaar’ by Gopalakrishna Bharati. To represent the South, we described the dream of Andal as if she was wedded to Lord Krishna or Vishnu. The beautiful lyrics of Lingraj described Goddess Parvathi as the embodiment of grace and beauty. This was followed by a Marathi song ‘Rusali Radha Rusala Madhava’ describing the love of Radha and Krishna and their argument, which surprisingly makes the whole Gokul angry, and a beautiful thillana in Ragam Dhanashree, which was the grand finale.
After the performance, a special event was held in which veteran dancer Lakshmi Vishwanathan was honoured with the ‘Kalidas Samman’ award for Bharathanatyam. The other Bharathanatyam groups were from New Delhi and Bengaluru.