Swati Hebbar and Niyathi Nagesh (disciples of Veena C. Seshadri) performing in Dikshitar 250 Season 1. Photo Courtesy: Kalasampada
Muthuswami Dikshitar’s compositions have been celebrated for generations not only by musicians but also by dancers. For example, Padma Subramaniam has choreographed Dikshitar’s ‘Meenakshi Mein Mudam Dehi’ in raga Gamakkriya, while Yamini Krishnamurthy won hearts with her performance of ‘Balambikayah Katakshitoham’.
Bengaluru’s Kalasampada Center for Fine Arts celebrates the composer with Season 2 of Dikshitar 250 – A Bharatnatyam Youth FestivalIn Bengaluru on 26 October.
Veena C. Seshadri, founder of Kalasampada, who has organized the dance festival, says, “While the music fraternity is celebrating Dikshitar’s 250th birth anniversary with a series of special concerts, the Karnataka dance fraternity is paying tribute to the composer through dance.”
Veena with her student Swati Hebbar during rehearsal. Photo Courtesy: Kalasampada
“We are celebrating Disruptor 250With a grand event every three months. We started with ‘Kaladhyatham, Bani and Beyond’, which was staged during Season 1 and featured duets by young artistes from dance schools of Bengaluru. Season 2 will include solo dance performances based on Dikshitar’s compositions,” says Veena, who feels this is a way to take his works to a new generation. We can learn about the nuances of the Sthala Purana or Kshetra Purana, Agama Shastra and Bhakti Bhava through his compositions. The irony is that these pieces were not specifically written for performance, but it is these emotions that make them ideal for the stage. ,
Dikshitar 250 features only Bharatanatyam, “It’s my speciality, so we wanted to focus on this dance form. We invited applications. The dancers will each perform a Dikshitar composition,” shares Veena. Around eight to nine dance schools from across Bengaluru will participate in Season 2.
Season 1 featured students Malini Ravi Shankar, Suma Nagesh, Purnima Gururaj and Aranya Narayan. ‘Rupamu Juchi’ was featured in Season 1(choreographed by Rukmini Devi), ‘Kanjadalayatakshi’, ‘Gajananayutam’, ‘Hiranmayim’, ‘Vatapi Ganapathim Bhaje, ‘Ardhanarishwaram’, ‘Pancha Matanga’, ‘Sri Maha Ganapathim’, Nottuswaram Sahitya and ‘Akilandeshwari’. We focused on the couple because we wanted to show the beauty of coordination. Season 2 Anushree R. It will be interesting with the performances of Raikar (disciple of Satyanarayana Raju), who will present ‘Rangapura Vihar’ in Raga Brindavan Saranga, Shravani Satish (disciple of Mithun Shyam), who will present ‘Swaminath Paripalaya’ in Raga Nattai and Lahari Premanand (disciple of Veena), who will present ‘Mudam in Meenakshi’. In Raga Gamakpriya.
J. Manu and Lasya Priya (disciple of Malini Ravi Shankar) from their performance in Season 1 Photo Courtesy: Kalasampada
An important aspect of Kalasampada’s Dikhitar 250it’s a two day tour(22 and 23 November) “where we, along with the participating dancers, will visit Chidambaram, Tiruvarur, Thanjavur and Tiruchi – all connected with Dikshitar’s life and works. We hope this trip will provide an insight into the musical, historical and spiritual traditions of each region. The trip will provide cultural depth, contextual understanding of the works and a strong appreciation of Dikshitar’s legacy.” Is designed to provide,” says. Veena.
Visit veenakalasampada.com for details.
published – October 21, 2025 04:05 PM IST