Aradhana

Aradhana

The Ambalam Foundation presented Aradhana, a thoughtfully curated two-day music and dance festival honouring guru S. Rajam and guru Kalanidhi Narayanan, celebrating their enduring artistic legacies. Held at Seva Sadan, Bengaluru, on 6 and 7 December 2025, the festival brought together performances, workshops, and scholarly discussions, offering a meaningful tribute to these towering figures of Indian classical music and dance.

Day One: A musical salutation to vidwan S. Rajam

The first day was dedicated to music and paid a rich tribute to the multifaceted genius of the late S. Rajam. Proceedings began with a panel discussion moderated by Janaki Srinivasan, featuring eminent musician and musicologist Prameela Gurumurthy and writer Lalitharam Ramachandran, followed by a moving remembrance by vidwan T. V. Ramprasadh.

Subsequently, workshop sessions were conducted by Indira Kadambi for dance and T. V. Ramprasadh, and Prameela Gurumurthy for Music.

The evening segment was devoted to performance and opened with a Hindustani vocal recital by Abhijith Shenoy, accompanied by Adarsh Shenoy on the tabla, Prasad Kamath on the harmonium, and Brahmi Chandrashekaran and Kapil Rangan on the tanpura. The ensemble presented an evocative concert that allowed the audience to dwell deeply in the beauty of Hindustani music.

A highlight of the recital was a thumri composed by Abhijith Shenoy under his pen name Abhirang, set in raga Mishra Pilu—More saiyan gaye pardesh re. With simple yet poetic Hindi lyrics, the composition explored a contemporary emotional theme, resonating strongly with today’s sensibilities.

A brief interlude followed for the conferring of the Kala Aradhaka title upon guru Mahalakshmi Natarajan and Jagannatha Rao. The occasion also marked the launch of Mahaageetha, a YouTube channel dedicated to archiving recordings of the celebrated singing sisters Mahalakshmi and Geetha. 

The first day concluded with a grand finale, Laya Lavanya, an innovative rhythmic ensemble conceived, composed, and directed by the eminent mridangam maestro, composer, vocalist, and guru Anoor Ananthakrishna Sharma. The ensemble featured Amit Nadig (flute), K. J. Dilip (violin), B. R. Somashekhar Jois (konnakol), Vidyashankar (ghatam), Chidananda (morsing), Prajwal Bharadwaj (mridangam, khanjira, eru maddale), Gopi Shravan (drums), Sai Vamshi (cajon, chende, bass tape), Kiran Godkhindi and Pradyumna Karpurkar (tabla), and Prabodh Shyam Anoor (pakhawaj).

Beginning with Vandisuve adiyali gananathana, the ensemble went on to present a special talavadya composition in raga Kadanakuthuhalam and a ragam–tanam–pallavi in Hemavati, both set to Adi tala and composed by Anoor Ananthakrishna Sharma. The exhilarating percussion presentation had many in the audience—festival curator Indira Kadambi included—bursting into spontaneous dance, ending the day on an emphatically high note.

Day Two: Remembering guru Kalanidhi Narayanan

The second day of Aradhana celebrated the legacy of the legendary abhinaya guru Kalanidhi Narayanan on her birth anniversary.

The morning session opened with a short film on her life and work, followed by a panel discussion moderated by Janaki Srinivasan, featuring senior dancers Jayanthi Subramaniam and Nithyakalyani followed by a presentation of Sai Kripa Prasanna’s research paper titled Meippattiyal, which was conferred the Best Paper Award.

Another evocative segment was Rangabhoga, a conversation between Ramaa Bharadvaj and Indira Kadambi, where dance and dialogue intertwined.

The evening session began with a musical offering by the students of T. V. Ramprasadh, who rendered select compositions of S. Rajam, reinforcing the living legacy of the guru.

This was followed by a Kuchipudi recital by Sreelakshmy Govardhanan. She opened with Tandava nritta kare Ganesa” a vibrant invocation borrowed from Kuchipudi Yakshagana tradition, visualising Ganesa’s powerful cosmic tandava.

Transitioning into dramatic terrain, she next presented Banasura Daruvu, an excerpt from Usha Parinayam, the iconic Kuchipudi dance-drama by Vedantam Lakshminarayana Sastry. Her command over vachika abhinaya, intrinsic to the Kuchipudi tradition, was evident in the dialogue between King Banasura and his minister. Intricate footwork, where necessary, and layered abhinaya lent gravitas to the presentation.

Having presented two compositions from the Kuchipudi Yakshagana tradition taught by her guru Pasumarthy Rattaiah Sarma, Sreelakshmy concluded her recital with a Krishna stuti in the tarangam format, composed and taught by her earlier guru Vasudevan Namboodiri—a fitting choice for a festival celebrating the guru-shishya tradition. Beginning with a Navarasa shloka, the central sanchari explored Poothana Moksham. Her portrayal of Poothana was marked by finesse and layered with emotional depth. Sreelakshmy went on to present a segment where she danced atop the brass plate displaying rhythmic prowess, and technical mastery. She was ably supported by Kavya (nattuvangam), Murali Sangeeth (vocals), Kalamandalam Sriram (mridangam) and Vivek Krishna (flute).

 During the brief stage ceremony that followed the Ambalam Foundation conferred the Kala Aradhaka title upon veteran guru Usha Dattar and stage lighting artist Ravi.

The two-day festival then reached its finale, a Bharatanatyam recital by Rama Vaidyanathan. She opened with a Shabdam composed by Tanjavur Arunachala Pillai—Tillai ambalam thannile natam seidhidum Nataraja —infusing the traditional sringara bhakti piece with her characteristic charm.

Rama then presented vidwan  M. Balamuralikrishna’s celebrated varnam Saraguna gavumu in raga Todi. Supported by Viswesh Swaminathan (vocals), S. Vasudevan (nattuvangam), Sumodh Sridharan (mridangam), and Mattur Srinidhi (violin), the performance unfolded as a treat to the senses and beyond. Deeply rooted in bhakthi, the elaborate varnam was an artistic-spiritual experience. 

Rama Vaidyanathan then presented an evocative depiction of the Raas Leela, beginning with verses from the Narayaneeyam and culminating in Swati Tirunal’s sublime Rasa vilasa lola in raga Kambhoji, Adi tala.

With this, the two-day music and dance festival drew to a close. Aradhana stood as a heartfelt celebration of the guru–shishya parampara, the living tradition that has sustained and nurtured Indian classical arts across centuries.