Kuchipudi artists from Kothagudem to perform in Delhi RD Parade

Kothagudem: This year’s Republic Day parade in New Delhi will be a special day for Telangana, Kothagudem district as well as classical dance form Kuchipudi of Telugus. A Kuchipudi troupe comprising 10 skilled dancers of Kothagudem have been selected to showcase their talent in the Republic Day celebrations at Rajpath, the ceremonial boulevard in New […]

Kothagudem: This year’s Republic Day parade in New Delhi will be a special day for Telangana, Kothagudem district as well as classical dance form Kuchipudi of Telugus.

A Kuchipudi troupe comprising 10 skilled dancers of Kothagudem have been selected to showcase their talent in the Republic Day celebrations at Rajpath, the ceremonial boulevard in New Delhi on January 26.

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Thanks to Madhurapantula Sita Lakshmi Prasad, who runs a dance school Sri Durga Sai Nruthya Nikethan here, whose skilful training along with hours of dedicated practice of her students enabled the troupe to make it to the national event.

It all began with the ‘Vandebharatam Nrityotsav’, a nation-wide dance competition organised by the union Ministry of Culture and Ministry of Defence commemorating ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’.

Incidentally, Kothagudem troupe is the only one of around 40 teams that will be part of the parade, to represent Kuchipudi dance form on Republic Day. From Telangana, two troupes have been selected for the parade, the other one is from Hyderabad.

“Beginning at district level competition (held virtually) on Dec 28, we made our way to State level (virtual) held on Dec 2, zonal and national ‘grand finale’ held at Bengaluru and New Delhi on Dec 11 and Dec 19”, the dance teacher said.

“It is a momentous occasion for us to perform in the prestigious Republic Day Parade in New Delhi in the presence of the President of India, Indian and foreign dignitaries. We are fortunate to be part of the celebrations when the nation celebrates its 75th anniversary of independence”, elated Lakshmi Prasad, who has an experience of 28 years in dance, told Telangana Today.

Explaining how their journey from Kothagudem to New Delhi went on, the dance teacher said they never expected to make it to national level though they expected to reach zonal level. At zonal level, the team performed the famous Kuchipudi plate dance, a repertoire of the dance style.

Renowned classical dancers Prathibha Prahlad, Geetanjali Lal, Santosh Nair and Maitreyee Pahari were the judges at the grand finale. A dance-drama based on a patriotic song ‘Bharata Desha Hitaya’, composed by Swami Dayananda Saraswati, the founder of All India Movement (AIM) for Seva was performed.

The Nruthya Nikethan team’s was among the best five performances at the grand finale attended by Minister of State for Culture Meenakashi Lekhi, well known singer-dancer Ila Arun and famous Kathak dancer Shovana Narayan.

The team members Srinija Sriramula , Indrani Indu , Srikavya Dasari, Sumasmitha, Ankitha Tatapuri ,Anjali, Sri Sravya, Manisha Ravula , Yamini and Geethika Bangari having around 10 years of experience in the dance form got selected for Republic Day, she informed.

“Three minutes was the duration fixed for every participating team. It threw us a challenge to bring out the essence of Kuchipudi style in the time span. Yet we made great efforts to bring the best of our talent to impress the judges”, Lakshmi Prasad explained.

Union Minister for Culture, G Kishan Reddy in his twitter handle appreciated the dance teacher and her students’ performance in grand finale describing it as an exemplary display.

Lakshmi Prasad thanked Department of Language and Culture Director, Mamidi Harikrishna, who on behalf of the Telangana government made to and fro travel arrangements for the troupe to go to Delhi for grand finale.

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