Svanubhava 2015: All day and all night

As another edition of the youth cultural movement unfolds on August 7, its volunteers talk about its purpose and reach

August 05, 2015 04:07 pm | Updated March 29, 2016 01:22 pm IST

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From dawn to dusk and beyond, the 2015 edition of Svanubhava is going to be a 24-hour celebration of culture for the youth, by the youth. As students of more than 22 schools and around 10 colleges, amateur artistes and aficionados gear up to be part of this annual fest, the young organisers, most of them professional performers, are pulling out all the stops to make this get-together a unique learning curve as much as a musical experience.

For the first time, since its inception in 2008, Svanubhava will include workshops on theatre, photography and visual arts, besides music and dance, to provide a wholesome perspective of art. These workshops are being conducted by Guruvayur Dorai, C.V. Chandrasekar, A.V. Ilango, C.P. Satyajit and Bala from Theatre Nisha.

“We realised the need to present culture on a larger canvas, rather than limit it to a few art forms. We also wanted to have intense courses where students can engage and learn from the best,” says Rithvik Raja, a well-known Carnatic vocalist and a committee member of Svanubhava.

On August 7, the festival starts at midnight, and the first six hours feature art forms which are traditionally performed all through the night such as bhagavata mela, theyyam and namasankirtanam. The early morning session from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. features a robust nagasvaram concert by Vyasarpadi Kothandaraman, which will be held under the Banyan Tree in Kalakshetra, followed by a 30-minute all-religion prayer by the students of Kalakshetra. The day session from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., which caters mainly to the 1,000-plus students from public schools, private institutions, corporation schools, special schools and colleges in the city and nearby districts, will include four short performances of music, dance and theatre, each followed by question and answer sessions.

Talking about the performances in this session, kanjira artiste and Svanubhava member Anirudh Athreya points out that it will be a beautiful amalgam of melody and rhythm.

There will be a veena, venu, violin performance by Vishal Sapuram, JB Sruthi Sagar, Parur MS Ananthkrishnan with Sumesh S Narayanan, Harihara Sharma and V. Sai Subramaniam. Senior Bharatanatyam dancer Jayanthi Subramaniam will present ‘Jyothirgamaya’, followed by a saxophone concert by Kadri Gopalnath. The session will round off with a Kathakali recital by Kotakkal Kesavan Kundlayar.

“While the workshops will go beyond the brief interaction with artistes during the question and answer sessions, the evening and late night concerts will help young participants understand and enjoy these art forms in the perfect milieu,” says Soundharya Muthukrishnan, another Svanubhava volunteer.

Though the fest was initially restricted to Carnatic music and Bharatanatyam, to reach out to more youngsters and to give it a heterogeneous character, 95 different art forms were brought into its fold. “Online research and discussions with veteran performers helped us widen our repertoire. The aim was to help students belonging to different backgrounds be able to take something back from the fest,” explains Chandrasekara Sharma, a ghatam artiste, who is among those who have been working tirelessly for this movement.

Though Svanubhava is essentially about the coming together of young minds for a purpose, it will also be a day out for the young attendees; a break from their academic routine. “And food is an important part of any such celebration,” laughs Vidhya Raghavan, a committee member. “As always, lunch and tea will be provided free of cost to all students. But what’s special this year is the availability of food stalls all through the night, so that you can treat both your senses and stomach.”

Any art form is as influenced by its surroundings, as the technical skill of its presenters. Not surprisingly, artistes are looking at alternative venues to convey the inherent beauty of the art by allowing their choreography to merge with the setting.

“As always, Kalakshetra is partnering with us and co-hosting the festival. Since there are so many beautiful spaces within this grand institution, we are also making use of the different spaces available within their campus that haven’t yet been explored. Programmes will take place at The Rukmini Arangam, The Banyan Tree, The Cottages, The Tagore Hall, Padma Pushkarni, etc,” says Rithvik.

And as the last rays of the setting sun cast a warm glow, the verdant Kalakshetra campus will resound to Gayathri Venkataraghavan’s singing and Kathak exponent Aditi Mangaldas’ vibrant footwork.

For details, log on to >www.svanubhava.com or call 97907 69141/98842 34448

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