In 1976, Natya Tarangini was founded in New Delhi by world-renowned Kuchipudi dance gurus Raja Radha Reddy and Kaushalya Reddy. Natya Tarangini inculcates in their disciples a sense of excellence, dedication and passion for the arts in a Guru-Shishya environment where dance is a way of life. Adorned with the Sangeet Natak Ratna award, among other awards, the renowned Gurus also believe in spreading Indian arts beyond their own space nationally as well as internationally.

Thus was born the Parampara National Festival of Dance and Music 27 years ago.

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In December 2024 we got to see the 28th edition conceptualised and directed by Gurus Raja Radha Reddy and Kaushalya Reddy. With three days of joyous dance and music, rasikas were in for a treat.

The festival kicked off with the vibrant disciples of Natyatarangini presenting Nritya Mahima, a medley of pure dance, or Nritta, set to mnemonic syllables evocating the chant of Aum. Both Drs Raja and Radha Reddy set the tone for the piece in their inimitable traditional style while their disciples took off with speed and grace to the rhythmic patterns of music and dance.

This was followed by the Rasa harime ashtapadi from Jayadeva’s Gita Govinda set to Raga Malika and Talam Mishra Chapu and Adi. The poem focuses on Radha’s depiction of Lord Krishna’s magnificent form. Her infatuation with her celestial lover is depicted through the minutiae of her description of every aspect of his appearance, talent and actions. This includes vivid descriptions of the flute on his lips, dazzling ear studs, sidelong glances, peacock plumes and jewels that adorn his luminous blue body. This ashtapadi is Radha’s most open declaration of adoration towards Krishna.

Jayadeva’s tale of yearning, pain and eventual fulfilment expressed through the Kuchipudi dance style was quite moving.

The dance section of the evening concluded with Tarangam, where the dancers’ movements symbolise the waves of the ocean. It is generally performed on a brass plate which symbolises the earth, and the dancer’s ability to dance on the rim of the plate symbolises their disconnect with earthly matter and their closeness to the Almighty. The disciples of Natyatarangini did justice to this demanding number and brought the evening to a satisfying close.

Vocalists for the evening were DV Ratikant and Lavanya Sundaram; flute, Raghavendra Prasad; Mridangam, Manohar Balachandran; and Nattuvangam by the inimitable and hugely talented Kaushalya Reddy.

The second evening of Parampara brought to us performances by Srijan from Bhubaneswar, directed and choreographed by Guru Ratikanta Mahapatra. He has evolved the traditional Odissi into a neoclassical form wherein movements from Natya Shastra and indigenous forms have been inculcated without disturbing the core form of Odissi.

They started off with Ardhanariswara, which had been composed by Raghunath Panigrahi in Raga Malika and Tala Malika. It was a complex composition where Ardhanariswara represents the combined forms of Shiva and Parvati, and in their merger, we get the very heart of creation, the perfect equilibrium between masculine and feminine energy. This shows how essential both genders are to each other and to creation itself. It was a vibrant composition bringing forth the considerable skills of the dancers who were Pritisha Mahapatra, Rajasri Praharaj, Diana Ghosh, Subhasri Senapati, Aishwarya, Madhavi Raut, G. Sanjaya, and Rajkumar Pal.

This was followed by Pallavi in Pancham Sawari Tal (set in 15 beats) and Raga Pancha Kauns. It was an elaboration on pure dance with music by Pradip Kumar Das.

The last number was Vande Surya, an ode to the Sun God who rides in dazzling beauty on a chariot with seven white horses. It was a vivid delineation of the sun and its light-giving and nurturing qualities. The Sanskrit sloka was by Nityananda Mishra, and the music was by Agnimitra Behera.

The 28th Parampara festival came to a closure on the last evening with the incomparable Dr Nina Prasad and the Sougandhika Centre for Mohiniattam. This was my second encounter with Dr Prasad and her famous choreography, and I was not disappointed. While having been trained in the Bharatanatyam, Kuchipudi and Kathakali styles under the masters Adyar Lakshmanan, Vempatti Chinnasatyam and Vembayan Appukuttan Pillai, her first love has always remained Mohiniattam. She was trained in this lyrical style of Kerala, an exposition of lasya with gentle pace and rhythm, under Kalamandalam Sugandhi and Kalamandalam Kshemavati.

In turn she has taught her students the fruits of her “Tapasya”, and the dance that binds her soul to nature and the cosmos has found expression and exposition in her students as well.

The evening began with the customary Chollukettu in Rag Hamsadhwani and Tal Khanda Triputa. Dr Prasad does not confine herself solely to the traditional but widens the scope of the dance form with her inimitable imagination and solid knowledge of the treatises. The sahityam was “Om Brahmanandam parama sukhadam…”, meaning “He who has attained the Bliss of Brahman, the Supreme Joy, He who is free from delusion, the embodiment of Wisdom…”

This was followed by an exposition of Utsava Prabandham by Swathi Thirunal, a solo recital by Dr Nina Prasad. With her considerable knowledge of both dance and theatre and the connected treatises, her visualisation of the Andolika vahanam at the Painguni Utsavam of the Padmanabhaswami Temple was both lyrical and powerful. Set to Raga Ananda Bhairavi and Mishra Chapu Tal, the performance revealed yet another facet of her performing abilities.

The Ashtapadis from Geet Govinda, where the emotions of devotion, separation, love and union of the great souls Krishna, Radha and Sakhi are expressed through lyrical poetry, Krishna says Radha has found her journey’s end at the right destination with Narayana. The agony and ecstasy of Radha, her anxiety at imagining Krishna in the company of others, was exquisitely captured. Set to raga Malika and tala Malika, the performance immersed the sahrudayas deeply into the nuances of Mohiniattam abhinaya.

The performance closed with a vibrant and graceful Thillana set to Rag Behag and Adi Tal.

The music composition and vocal support were provided by Madhavan Namboodiri; on the mridangam was Ramesh Babu; on violin were VSK Annadurai, Edakya Kalamandalam Srikumar and Nattuvangam was by Ashwati Krishna and Dr Prasad. The dancers were Dr Nina Prasad, Vidyaprati, Dr Abha Prasad, Divya Warrier, Ashwati Krishna, Dr Julie Menon and Vishnupriya Marar.

The writer is an independent contributor