Kerala Tourism’s Nishagandhi dance festival beginning here on January 20 will feature a Bharatanatyam recital by Narthaki Nataraj, a transwoman who has become a superstar of Indian classical dance.
Dr. Nataraj, who has broken the regressive norms surrounding the dance form and established her own path, has been chosen for the seven-day dance festival as part of the government’s declared policy to promote the Rights of Transgenders.
Leading danseuse Neena Prasad will perform Mohiniyattam on the inaugural day after the presentation of the Nishagandhi Puraskaram 2019 to Mohiniyattam exponent Kalamandalam Kshemavathi in recognition of her contributions to the dance form. The award carries a purse of ₹1. 5 lakh, bronze statuette of Bharatamuni and citation.
Recitals
In the subsequent days of the fest, Sobha Madhu, Christopher Gurusamy and Adithya P.V will present Bharatanatyam while Vyjayanthi Kashi and Group, T. Reddi Lakshmi, Sindhu Sivankutty and Nija Lathin will present Kuchipudi. Sudip Kumar Ghosh and Group will perform Manipuri, Namrrtra Rai Kathak, Nrutya Naidvedya Gotipura, Raminder Khurana Odissi and Monisa Nayak and Group Kathak.
Governor to inaugurate
Governor, P. Sathasivam will inaugurate the 2019 edition of the dance festival at 6.15 p.m. on January 20, Minister for Tourism and Devaswom Kadakampally Surendran told a press conference here on Friday. Upcoming dancers of the State will also be given an opportunity to perform at Nishagandhi.
The government had decided to go ahead with the dance festival despite the financial crisis faced by the exchequer caused by the floods in mid-August and to avoid festivals organised by the government as the dance festival is an important product of Kerala Tourism and a part of the tourism calendar.
Funds mobilised
Though the funds for the dance festival had been mobilised through sponsorship, the quality has been assured and top artistes have been invited for performing, the Minister pointed out. Entry to the dance festival is free on all days.