Classical artistes still need patronage: Yamini Reddy

Yamini Reddy, who runs the show at Natya Tarangini centre in the Hyderabad, busy preparing a splendid showcase to be held at Ravindra Bharathi on September 23.

Hyderabad: Sustaining a cultural centre dedicated to a classical dance form like Kuchipudi over decades, especially after a pandemic isn’t easy. But Yamini Reddy, who runs the show at Natya Tarangini centre in the city has managed to come through it with flying colours. This month, Natya Tarangini completes 15 years and its students are busy preparing a splendid showcase to be held at Ravindra Bharathi on September 23.

It’s an important moment for Yamini and the fruition of her family’s persistent efforts to keep Kuchipudi’s legacy alive through Natya Tarangini which was first established in Delhi in 1976 by Kuchipudi dance duo Raja Radha Reddy.

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Though Yamini believes in one-to-one training, Yamini shifted to online instruction when pandemic forced everyone inside. The move, she says led to students from across the globe connecting with her to learn Kuchipudi.

“At the centre, I give each student personal attention. With Covid, we had to rethink all that. But it was very heartening to see students from Europe, USA, UK show an interest in learning Kuchipudi. Social media has broken down physical limitations of our art,” shares Yamini Reddy.

Her students, who have been learning Kuchipudi as early as 5 years of age have all taken part in the conceptualisation of the programme which is going to include traditional numbers and original choreographies.

“I believe it’s better not to tweak a traditional production beyond a certain parameter. But we change the narrative language to a local one sometimes so the audience understands and relates to it,” says Yamini. Over the years, Yamini and her family have also experimented by using Sufi, Punjabi music with Kuchipudi recitals.

For instance, her father Raja Reddy choreographed a recital on Amir Khusrao’s poem Chhaap Tilak…, Abida Parveen’s songs, George Harrison’s My sweet lord, and another production set to Harivansh Rai Bachchan’s Madhushala. An original production can take a year and a half to finish since they start everything from scratch, including musical compositions.

“Like every creative field, Kuchipudi also needs patronage. Very few take up Kuchipudi as their main career. It takes years of hard work, sweat and tears to make it in a field which is very niche. You need to learn the music, literature that goes with a performance. Dance remains a very unorganised sector in the country and talented artistes have to work doubly hard to be successful,” observes Yamini.