Praag Daksina - A Confluence Of Bharathanatyam & Odissi By Vyshnavie

Chaitanya Art Theatres is presenting a dance concert titled Praag Daksina - East Meets South, a confluence of Bharathanatyam & Odissi, by Vyshnavie (daughter of Rajeswari Sainath), on 27th July, at 6:45pm, at Ravindra Bharathi.

The evening will witness Vyshnavie performing Odissi as well as Bharatanatyam, having learnt Odissi from Durga Charan Ranbir and Bharatanatyam from Rajeswari Sainath. For the Odissi recital, her guru, Durga Charan Ranbir will accompany her on the Manjira Thalam, along with Sukant Kumar Kundu on the vocals, Guru Niranjan Patra on the Mardala (Pakhwaj), Abhiram Nand on the flute and Swapneswar Chakraborthy on the sitar. The Bharatanatyam performance will be accompanied by Karra Srinivas on the Nattuvangam, Sangeetha Kala on the vocals, Nagai Narayanan on the mridangam and Kalai Arasan on the violin.

The guests of honor for the event are Dr. Dharmavarapu Subrahmanyam (former chairman, A P State Cultural Council), C Partha Sarathi (IAS Commissioner, Information & Public Relations Dept.), Dr. A Natarajan (Former Director, Doordarshan, Chennai), Jayesh Ranjan (IAS and Secretary to Govt., Tourism, Archaeology & Museums), B Venkatesham (IAS & Managing Director, A P Tourism Development Corporation), and Kaaraikkudi Mani (Mridangam Legend).

Vyshnavie's passion for dance began at the tender age of 3, and she was groomed in Bharathanatyam under the guidance of her mother "Nritya Choodamani" Rajeswari Sainath, Vyshnavie has performed in various productions of Sruthi Laya Kendra Natarajaalaya at important centers of India and abroad. She has given solo dance performances for prestigious organizations that include the Madras Music Academy, Krishna Gana Sabha, Karthik Fine Arts in Chennai, SICA in Hyderabad, and Ikyata and Bansi Bilas in Bhubaneswar.

She has also performed in the music and dance festival in Croydon theatre in Londom, Re-Orient Festival in Sweden, Mummoorthigal Festival in Australia, as well as at concerts in USA and Canada, under the production of laya maestro Kaaraikkudi Mani. She has the distinction of having performed on the closing day of the cultural festival FINA (World Swimming Championship, Melbourne).

She was awarded the Rukmini Devi Memorial Endowment Prize for her meritorious performance on her very first appearance for Krishna Gana Sabha, Chennai in 2006. She has been awarded the title "Natya Chuddar" by Karthik Fine Arts, Chennai, this year.

She has undergone training in the Odissi style of dance from the senior-most surviving Guru Durga Charan Ranbir of Bhubaneswar. She is also undergoing advanced training in the nuances of rhythm under the mridangam maestro, Kaaraikkudi Mani. Currently, Vyshnavie is pursuing her degree in mass communication and English literature at St. Francis College in Hyderabad.

Free passes are available at the Chaitanya Art Theatre office. Please contact 2321-5555 for further details.