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:: REVIEW
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The Soorya festival - A rare cultural treat to Singapore
Kerala Kaumudi, Singapore
The world renowned Indian cultural society, Soorya, opened its
Singapore chapter yesterday with a rare treat of Indian classical dance
and music performances at the Singapore Polytechnic convention Hall.
The CEO of the National Arts Council of Singapore Mr. Lee Tzu Yang was
the chief guest of the evening.The event held in Singapore was the last
leg of a global tour of the Soorya Global Arts Festival of Indian Dance
and Music covering 13 countries including the Middle East, Europe and
the Far East. The event was co-sponsored by the Bharatiya Vidyabhavan,
the Indian Bank and Pars Ram Enterprises. Fifty percent of the annual
profit generated by Soorya Singapore is pledged to charity; this year’s
beneficiary being the Sree Narayana Mission Home for the Aged Sick.
Soorya is a not-for-profit, non-commercial, voluntary organization that
aims to reach the finest of Indian cultural and art forms to the
masses. Known to be the largest cultural society in Asia, Soorya has a
sterling record of 30 years of presenting the best of Indian art and
Cinema to the masses through its highly acclaimed arts festivals and
showcasing outstanding upcoming talents of the Indian art scene.
Founded by Mr. N Krishnamoorthy (Soorya Krishnamoorthy), a trained
Engineer with a passion for the arts, Soorya currently has over 20000
members out of which 13000 comes from its chapters in 11 countries
across the world including New York (USA), London (UK), Manchester
(UK), Zurich (Switzerland), Rome (Italy), Vienna (Austria), Köln
(Germany) Bahrain, Dubai, Kuwait, Oman, Abu Dhabi, Saudi Arabia and
Qatar (Gulf).
The event consisted of three performances: Bharatanatyam recitals by
Padmabhushan Alarmel Valli, Fusion music presented by Trivandrum
Krishnakumar (Carnatic vocal) Rajhesh Vaidhya (Veena) Karuna Murthy
(Tavil) ER Janardhan (Saxophone) Joeboy (Jose Vincent) (Drums) and
Karaikurichy Mohan Ram (Mridangam, Tabla, Ganjira) and dance
performances by Meena Kumari Sahoo (Odissi) and Monisa Nayak (Kathak)
Alarmel Valli, one of world’s leading exponents of Bharatanatyam,
presented three breathtaking “dance poems” using her medium. A
“Pallavi” invoking the four goddesses: “Lakshmi”, “Saraswathi”, “Durga”
and “Mahishasuramardini” was followed by a composition that traced the
circle of life with images of the rain as it is born out of the
tempestuous courtship of the wind and the cloud, attains maturity as it
runs through its course and finally converges with the ocean -only to
rise again - as vapor. The third composition used verses from the
“Purananooru” (a collection of four hundred poems on war) to portray
the natural coming together of precious gems and stones collected from
far and wide to make a piece of jewel in perfect unison.
The ‘Odissi” and “Kathak” performances were remarkable for their grace
and traditional charm. The fusion music which blended the Veena, Tavil,
Mridangam and the Drums was inspiring in its ingenuity, vigor and sheer
expertise.
The grand finale brought the dancers and musicians together on stage;
the soft movements of traditional “Odissi” presented alongside the fast
and brisk foot movements of the “Kathak.”
Dr. Chitra Krishna Kumar , the President of the Singapore chapter of
Soorya delivered the welcome address and Mrs Soundarya Sukumar, gave
the vote of thanks.
Thara Ravindran
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The Straits Times (Singapore's most important English Newspaper)
dated April 28, 2005 (Thu)
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