The Takshashila’s ‘Tarang’ fiesta
The Prabodhankar Keshav Sitaram Thackeray Mini Auditorium at Borivali(w.), Mumbai was filled with vibrancy and mystic aura where many dignitaries and artists united to witness the “Tarang Utsav 2017”, organized by renowned artist Smt.Kashmira Trivedi of Takshashila Nrityakala Mandir, Thane.
As every year, this year also the utsav witnessed various dancers from different classical forms like Bharatanatyam, Kathak and Odissi were given opportunity to showcase their talent.
Simran Kavugoli and Deepika Venkatesh, disciples of Smt. Chitra Viswanathan gave solo performances in Bharatanatyam. Smt. Manjula Manoj, disciple of Giri S.P. Srinivasan & Guru Shankar Hembal performed Bharatanatyam.
Students of Sri Krishna Kala Mandir led by Guru Smt. Gayathri Gopi from Chennai and students of Shanmukha Arts led by Smt. Kala Srinivasan performed group Bharanatyam recitals respectively.
The solo Kathak performers were Medha Shah – disciple of Pandit Triloki Prasad, Purva Pandit – Disciple of Dr. Suchitra Harmalkar and Laxminarayan Jena – disciple of Guru Mysore B Nagaraj. The group Kathak presentation was by students of Dr. Neeta Surve of Bessein Academy of Performing Arts.
All the performances were appreciated and encouraged by senior dignitaries like Guru Shri. Deepak Muzumdar, Dr. Smt. Uma Rele, Shri BR Vikram Kumar, Shri. Jeevanlal Lavidiya IRS and Smt. Shipra Shrivatsava from the CISF.
Shri Jeevanlal, who hails from a non-dancer background, had much reverence to our Bharatiya culture and highly appreciated the efforts of Smt.Kashmira Trivedi for bringing together so many people and giving budding artists such a wonderful platform to present their talent.
All the dignitaries spoke about the significance of classical dance forms and its implications of one’s personality. Their words of wisdom were an eye opener for the younger generation to pursue classical art forms as part of their regular curriculum and retain its rich culture and heritage of thousands of years.
Guru Shri Deepak Mazumdar magnificently spoke about the Guru –Shishya relationship and its essence. Shri Vikram Kumar and Dr. Smt. Uma Rele shared their thoughts of about encouraging and inspiring the parents and students to learn the art forms with sincerity and commitment.
Smt Shipra Srinivas being in the uniform services spoke about the goodness of our BharataSanskriti and said the richness of the ancient traditions has in fact kept our country at a far higher grade in the world for crime and offence. All artists who performed were awarded “Tarang Padma” memento along with a certificate of appreciation.
The function concluded with a mesmerizing vocal rendition by Shri Shiva Prasad who was accompanied by a fantastic support on mridangam by Shri Satish Krishnamurthhy, Violin by Shri Balamurli,Ganjira by Shri Arjun Elavle and Ghatam by Shri Vinit Ashtamurthy. He sang the famous ‘Vaataapi Ganapatim’ for about 20 minutes which was interwoven with amazing kalpanaiswarams and a scintillating taalavadhyam. Shivaprasad was awarded the “TarangSur – Tala Mani” and honored by Guru Shri. Deepak Muzumdar and Shri.Vikram Kumar.
To summarize, there was ideal co-ordination and sequence of events in terms of organizing and execution by Takshashila team. The students of Smt Kashmira Trivedi who performed for invocatory Mallari performance was a treat to watch. It was quite smart move by them to be teamed in uniform attires to work as volunteers throughout the event. Their warm and respectful conduct deserves applause.
The Dance India team extends heartiest congratulations to Guru Smt. Kashmira Trivedi for her commitment, sincerity, devotion and hard work for recognizing and encouraging potential artists and bringing them forward in classical art forms in this era of western influence.
