Nauka Charitam - A Kuchipudi Dance Ballet By Students Of Shankari Natyasthal: Events in Hyderabad

Featuring Lord Krishna, CBFC rating A.

Shilparamam, as part of its ongoing All-India Crafts Mela from 16th to 31st December, is organising a Kuchipudi dance ballet, Nauka Charitam, by the students of Shankari Natyasthal, on 19th December.

The recital starts initially with a Ganesha Sthuti that will be performed by Rupa Ravali, Sri Vani, Peri Vaishnavi, Madhurya, Sunetri, Akshara, Sushma, Sohila, Chandrahasa and Vaishnavi, followed by the dance ballet Nauka Charitam to be enacted by Angara Srividya, Amuktha, Sahiti, Lalitha, Manisha, Deeksha, Harika and Manasa.

Nauka Charitam is a dance ballet written by the great Sri Thyagaraja, and is the story, in Telugu, that shows Krishna and the gopikas navigating on the banks of the river Yamuna. The gopikas prepare to embark, on a shimmering silver boat, upon an excursion across the river, when they hear the enchanting sound of Krishna's venu (flute).

Captivated by the magic melody, they stop their play and urge to talk to him. Krishna conveys his wish to accompany them on the boat. The gopikas hold several discussions and they converse about Krishna being a dangerous seducer and unreliable, but somehow, looking at the innocent and childish face, decide to invite him along the journey.

On board the boat, now gloriously provisioned with jewelry, they soon feel themselves so beautiful, seductive and irresistible, they soon turn out very arrogant and start abusing Krishna. In reply, Krishna creates a tremendous storm to frighten them. The boat trembles and tilts vigorously, and soon develops a crack on the surface from which the water starts gushing in. The gopikas plead Krishna to save their lives. Krishna agrees, but on one condition that they take off their tops to fill in the crack.

Unable to withstand the storm, the gopikas, with humiliation on their faces, take off their tops and eventually try to stuff them into the hole. Krishna, unsatisfied and unconvinced with this, intensifies the wind and height of the waves. This terrifies the gopikas, and they finally realize that even Krishna's life is now in danger. They pray for him, but Krishna ignores their concern.

Krishna then commands them to take off their clothes to stuff them into the hole. The gopikas, leaving their souls in the hands of Krishna, do accordingly. Finally, Krishna makes all that disaster disappear, and to their surprise, they find their surroundings very calm and peaceful as they were before. Finally, they pay their hearty respects to Krishna.

The orchestra for the recital is composed by Guru Yeleswarapu Vijaya Valli Priya (nattuvangam and vocals, with vocal support by Iruganti Madhavi Latha, Purihella Bharadwaj on the violin, Nagoor Babu on the flute, and Vasudeva Murthy on the mridangam.

Shankari Natyasthal was started more than a decade ago by Vijaya Valli Priya, who's been teaching dance and music with dedication and offers a revived tradition of Kuchipudi and Carnatic music, in a unique style designed by yesteryear maestros, and now blended with novel creativity.

The students of Shankari Natyasthal have staged many dance performances across the nation, such as at Bhadrachala Devasthanam, Sri Saraswati Temple (Basar), Sri Rajarajeshwara Swamy Temple (Vemulavada), Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Temple (Yadagirigutta), Sri Mallikarjuna Swamy Devasthanam (Srisailam) and Kanaka Durga Temple (Vijayawada), to mention a few.

For further details, please contact the venue at 2310-0455.