Bhavana Reddy, the talented daughter of Kuchipudi exponents Raja and Kausalya Reddy, is a recepient of Sangeet Natak Akademi’s Yuva Puraskar and has performed across the world, including at the prestigious Sadlers Wells Festival, London and Namaste India, Paris.
Mr. Navtej Sarna, Ambassador of India to the United States, inaugurated her dance performance recently at the millenium stage of the Kennedy Center. The event was organised by the Indian Embassy to celebrate Independence Day. Mr .V. Gokhale, India's Foreign Secretary, was also present on the occasion.
Bhavana began her recital with an invocation to Lord Ganesha ‘Vigna nivaranain’ in Gowlai. The next piece was in Natabhairavi. The young artiste brought out the beauty of the rhythemic sellu kattu and jatis with her steps. . She continued with two more dance pieces in Mohanam that extolled the virtues of Lord Krishna. Her bhava conveyed clearly the meaning of the songs. There was one piece adapted from the music of George Harrison that sounded very Indian. The climax of the performance was the tarangam that is done on a copper plate. A specialty of Kuchipudi, it won Bhavana enough applause. Ambassadors from some of India’s neighbouring countries attended the function lending an international atmosphere to the event.
The writer is based in Washington D.C.