‘Nritya Kalanidhi’ award conferred on Vasanthalakshmi

Vasanthalakshmi Narasimhachari receives Nritya Kalanidhi award from Edgar Pang Tze Chaing Consulate General of Singapore at the Inauguration of  the Seventeenth Dance Festival of Music Academy, in Chennai, on Wednesday. Also seen is N. Murali, President of the Music Academy.
| Photo Credit: R. Ravindran

Classical dancer and choreographer Vasanthalakshmi Narasimhachari was presented with ‘Nritya Kalanidhi’ award at the 17th Dance Festival of The Music Academy which began in the city on Wednesday.

Presenting the award, Edgar Pang Tze Chiang, Consul General, Consulate General of the Republic of Singapore in Chennai, recalled that Ms. Narasimhachari and her late husband and dance exponent M.V. Narasimhachari were dance tutors at the Singapore Fine Arts Society in the 1970s. They had trained many Singaporean dancers and created multicultural performances.

Highlighting Singapore’s cultural links with Tamil Nadu, Mr. Chiang said Tamil population made a significant segment of the Singapore’s Indian community. Tamil is one of the four official languages and its historical people-to-people links are intertwined with heritage and tradition of the fine arts of Tamil Nadu.

Noting that Singapore Indian fine arts musicians and dancers have participated in past editions of the Academy’s dance festivals, Mr. Chiang said this year too, Aravinth Kumaraswamy, artistic director of Apsaras arts dance company, would perform on January 15.

‘Key custodian’

Lauding the Academy for being a key custodian of south India’s rich cultural heritage, Mr. Chiang said the festival stands as a testament to the Academy’s commitment to musical education and cultural preservation. He also released the dance brochure and presented prizes to winners of Spirit of Youth festival, HCL Concert series and mid-year dance series.

Earlier, N. Murali, president of The Music Academy and director, The Hindu Group of Publications, said this year’s edition would feature several genres of the classical art form, including Bharatanatyam, Kuchipudi, Kathak, Yakshagana and Mohiniyattam, both as solo and group performances.

Felicitating Ms. Narasimhachari as one of the foremost exponents of classical dance, he said she and her husband were exposed to various other dance genres such as Kathakali and Odissi. The duo has many distinctive creations to their credit through their Kalasamarpana Foundation. Ms. Narasimhachari had not only learnt Veena but was also a talented lyricist and nattuvanar.

Accepting the award, Ms. Narasimhachari described it as a significant moment in her life. “It is not Vasanthalakshmi, the individual, who is being acknowledged and felicitated but Vasanthalakshmi, the artiste who has found life’s purpose in her art,” she said. The inauguration was followed by Bharatanatyam performances of Mythili Prakash and Priya Murle and Roja Kannan.