Nrityotsav 2010: Mohiniattam By Gopika Verma & Group

South Indian Cultural Association (SICA) is organising the annual dance festival Nrityotsav 2010, on 9th and 10th July, at the Ravindra Bharathi auditorium.

As part of the festival, Gopika Verma, along with her group of disciples, will present a Mohiniattam, on the 2nd and the last day of the festival.

Gopika Varma started learning mohiniattam at the age of 10 from Girija and Chandrika Kurup, continuing with them for 10 years. Later she specialised in the art under Kalyani Kuttyamma and her daughter Sreedevi Rajan. She learnt Abhinaya, which is the quintessence of mohiniattam, from Kalamandalam Krishnan Nair, the doyen of the Kathakali stage. Currently, Gopika is running a mohiniattam school named Dasya, in Chennai.

Gopika has performed at various art festivals, sabhas and temples all over India, and has won laurels abroad when ICCR chose her to represent India.

Gopika is married into the Travancore royal family, to Prince Pooruruttathi Thirunal Marthanda Varma. The ancient Travancore royal family has been famed down the ages for its patronage of the fine arts.

SICA was founded in 1959 by Dewan Bahadur Aramuda Iyengar, the Finance Minister of Hyderabad's Nizam as well as patron of Carnatic music. The association has since organised more than 1,000 concerts. It has provided a basic platform for upcoming artistes like U P Raju and Nagamani, Mandolin Srinivas and the Malladi Brothers.

It conducts workshops, felicitates artistes, and provides both moral and financial support to upcoming artistes. Dr. S Chakravarthy, IAS, former Chief Secretary to the Govt. Of AP, is the current President of the association, and R Chakrapani is the General Secretary.

The entry to the concert is by invitations for members. The rest need to buy donor passes of Rs. 25 or Rs. 50 per head. Please contact R Chakrapani, Secretary of South Indian Cultural Association, at 98491-24675 for further details.