Some of the biggest names in art and entertainment will be part of Kerala Tourism’s nine-day Nishagandhi Festival, which begins on the Kanakakunnu palace premises on January 20.
Sarod maestro Amjad Ali Khan, singers Kailash Kher and Sudha Raghunathan, actors Suhasini and Manju Warrier, and dancers Gopika Varma, Krithika Subramanian, and Yamini Reddy are among the star-studded line-up roped in for the festival.
The festival will kickoff at the Nishagandhi open air auditorium with Kailash Kher’s band performing Sufi fusion music
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Arushi Mudgal, a promising Odissi dancer, and Carnatic vocalist Padmasree Sudha Raghunathan will take to the stage on the third day.
On January 23, Nishagandhi will see performances by Kuchipudi dancer Payal Ramchandani, concert by Ustad Amjad Ali Khan and his sons, Amaan Ali Khan and Ayaan Ali Khan.
A classical fusion by veena artist Nisha Ponni and a Bharatanatyam recital by Sridhar and his wife Anuradha will be the highlights of day four.
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Mohiniyattom dancer Methil Devika and the Delhi-based contemporary Kathak artist Aditi Mangaldas will perform next day.
The following day will see Arya Jayadevan rendering Carnatic vocals and a joint Indo-Malaysian Bharatanatyam performance by Rama Vaidyanathan and Ajit Bhaskar Dass.
A collage of classical dance and theatre, Antharam , will be staged by cine artist Suhasini Maniratnam along with dancers Gopika Varma, Krithika Subramanium, and Yamini Reddy on January 27.
The nine-day festival will conclude with a specially choreographed programme Bharatam Keralam by Soorya Krihnamoorthy.
A Kathakali fest will be held from January 27 to February 1 as part of the Nishagandhi festival.
Kathakali exponents Kalamandalam Gopi, Madavoor Vasudevan Nair, Kalamandalam C.M. Balasubramanian, Ettumanoor P. Kannan, and Sadanam Krishnankutty will perform at the cultural festival.
The Kerala Tourism Development Corporation will be organising a food festival on the sidelines of the festival.