On the occasion of its 30th anniversary, Association of Bharatanatyam Artistes of India (ABHAI), honoured

several senior artists on 1 May at Vani Mahal in Chennai. A group dance choreographed by Binesh Mahadevan

was presented by 30 dancers to signify ABHAI’s 30th anniversary.

The prestigious Natya Kalanidhi awards were presented to veteran dance gurus Sudharani Raghupathy and Padma

Subrahmanyam (in absentia). Senior Bharatanatyam dancers and teachers Jayanthi Subramaniam and J. Suryanarayana

Murthy received the Nritya Perunjothi and Narthaka Nipuna awards respectively. The Gandharva Nipuna award was

presented to veena vidwan Mudicondan S.N. Ramesh. The awards were given away by chief guest Sangita Kalanidhi

Umayalpuram K. Sivaraman.

The award ceremony was followed by a group presentation in Bharatanatyam of a varnam learnt during the summer

workshop conducted by senior dancer-guru Sathyanarayana Raju in 2017.