This year’s Tantrotsav had quite a packed schedule ranging across workshops, discussions, satsang sessions and performances, all based on the theme, ‘Aanandham’ (bliss).
The Natyashastra workshop attracted participants from across the world. Taking the participants through Natyashastra (Navarasa and Nritta) was veteran Kathakali exponent Sadanam Balakrishnan.
To what must have been the ultimate thrill for his artists-in-residence disciples and festival enthusiasts, the maestro delivered a special performance with his workshop students — a solo piece on Kuchela and Krishna (Kuchelavruttam) — which was both spectacular, touching and transcendental of nationalities and disciplines.
Besides, there were sessions on kalaripayettu, rhythm and music and yoga on all days of the festival.
Among the several stirring performances/discourses this year were Tiruvasagam by Jataayu, socio-spiritual evolution of Saivism by Aravind Neelakandan, Sampadanand Mishra on Indian scriptures, Krishna Mckenzie-s’s ‘Music, food and texts’, Odissi-Javanese dance - travelogues by Kiran Kumar, Rekha Tandon’s meditations on Shiva-Shakti and Balakrishnan Raghavan’s musical poetry.
The high points of Tantrotsav 2019 also included Pavithra Srinivasan - Sundarakandam solo, Vast by Surya Performance lab, Auroville, Varun Aiyer’s Twilight Quagmires and Urban Folk project with Yellamma stories. The festival also featured creative guidance by Sadanam Balakrishnan and Kalarigram founder Lakshman Gurukkal and the staging of the in-house kalaripayattu production ‘Yodhaayanam- Journey of a Warrior’.