Nartanasala to pay tribute to legendary guru late Nataraja Ramakrishna through a performance
Hyderabad: Nartanasala — an abode of ancient dance traditions of Andhra Natyam and Perini Sivatandavam, founded by Sunila Gollapudi to revive the rich art forms, will celebrate the centenary of the legendary late Dr Nataraja Ramakrishna, the doyen of Andhranatyam and recreator of Perini Sivatandavam. Sunila will be hosting and presenting a novel interpretation of […]
Hyderabad: Nartanasala — an abode of ancient dance traditions of Andhra Natyam and Perini Sivatandavam, founded by Sunila Gollapudi to revive the rich art forms, will celebrate the centenary of the legendary late Dr Nataraja Ramakrishna, the doyen of Andhranatyam and recreator of Perini Sivatandavam.
Sunila will be hosting and presenting a novel interpretation of Andhra Nãtyam’s traditional ‘Navajanãrdhana Pãrijãtham’, under the guidance and choreography of her guru, Abhinava Satyabhama, Kala Krishna, on Saturday June 4, at Prasad Labs, Banjara Hills. The announcement was made by Sunila and guru Shri Kala Krishna, at a press conference today.
Dr Nataraja Ramakrishna, with his diligent scholarly efforts revived Andhra Natyam, which belongs to the Nattuva Mela tradition and is the ancient classical dance form of the Telugu regions (Telangana, Rayalaseema, and Andhra) that has been in vogue for the past 2000 years.
‘Navajanãrdhana Pãrijãtham’ (‘Shringara Drishya Divya Prabandham’) is a shringara rasa predominant solo dance ballet depicting an episode of love story between Lord Shri Krishna and his 8th wife, the beautiful Satyabhama, which is as ancient as ‘Gita Govindam’. Sunila Gollapudi will perform a newer compilation of ‘Navajanãrdhana Pãrijãtham’.
It starts with the dancer explaining what she would be performing (the storyline) followed by the actual performance. Guru Dr Nataraja Ramakrishna compiled a version of the ‘pranaya kalaham’ that includes ‘daruvus’ written by various poets and Andhra Natyam dancers have traditionally been performing for years.
Guru Kala Krishna worked on alternative contexts mentioned by his guru and recompiled a new version through his research and trained Sunila. The performance will be blessed and witnessed by prominent personalities in the field of art and dance as all come together to felicitate Guru Kala Krishna.
Speaking on the occasion, Guru Kala Krishna said, “Sunila Gollapudi and I are disciples of Dr Nataraja Ramakrishna. Sunila learnt Andhra Natyam from her childhood, continued it after her marriage too and gave several performances. Being a software engineer, despite paucity of time, she has been popularising Andhra Natyam through one or two performances every year. The dance form has been named Andhra Natyam sometime in 1970, but this dance has been around from time immemorial, from the day Hindu temples have come into existence.”
Sunila Gollapudi said, “I am performing ‘Navajanãrdhana Pãrijãtham’, through a novel interpretation to celebrate the centenary of the legendary late Dr Nataraja Ramakrishna, the doyen of Andhra Natyam and recreator of Perini Sivatandavam. I am trained in Andhra Natyam for the last 35 years and hold a diploma in it, while professionally I am the Managing Director at Accenture (India). Art is a passion for me, which I imbibed from my mother — into music, dance and painting. Dance is a primary hobby in my life. I am fortunate to have a Guru like Kala Krishna and I am also teaching my daughter. Students of Kala Krishna garu like us will be felicitating him on Saturday at Prasad Labs.”
