Kathak Workshop at Palakkad

SPIC-MACAY, the Society for the Promotion of Indian Classical Music And Culture Amongst Youth, in association with Gowri Creations is organising a National workshop on Kathak at Palakkad, Kerala.The 4-day workshop is conducted by Shalini Sharma, the talented Kathak dancer, at Sripada Natya Kalari at Ramanathapuram, Palakkad from 5 to 8 May 2014.

Sripada Natya Kalari is the dance school run by Methil Devika, the renowned Indian classical dancer and choreographer. 

Registration take place in a first come first served basis. Interested candidates can register the workshop with a fee of INR 1000/-.

For details: +91 8943720044, +91 9847261862

Image Courtesy: Shalini Sharma

A Musical Evening

The music lovers of Thrissur, Kerala in association with Harmony School of Music organised an evening of music on 20th April 2014 at Sahitya Academy Hall, Thrissur.The event presented the the reviews on the songs of late K P Udayabhanu, the playback singer and music director in Malayalam. A documentary of V A Babumaster on the works of late playback singer was played at the event. The musical concert by the nephew of Udayabhanu, Balamurali K P, the guitar performance by Sangeeth Pavithran  and tabla by the students of N V Suresh Master were the main attractions.

Balamurali K P

Sangeeth Pavithran

The association of music lovers of Thrissur is an initiative by Harmony School of Music, a music training institution which has completed their successful 16 years in their drive of music. The main venture of this association is to enhance the level of interest in music among the common people. The association was inaugurated on January 2013 by P Jayachandran, the Malayalam playback singer. Since now, has conducted six programmes in memory of the great singers and music directors of Malayalam - G Devarajan, M S Babural, Raveendran Master, V Dakshinamoorthy, K Raghavan and K P Udayabhanu.

For Details: Harmony School of Music, Adam Bazar, Thrissur, Kerala
Ph: 0487 2426260
Email: harmonyschoolofmusic@ymail.com

Pottery, the Skill

Kumbhara colony, the community of potters is seen in most of the villages of Palakkad dt. of Kerala. The pottery is a skill and art which depicts the tradition and culture of Kerala. Because of the lower profit and high effort, today many of the youngsters are not coming up in their community for this job and so, the art is extincting. At Ramassery village in Palakkad, there is such a community of potters who are still active in this feild. The village of Ramassery is famous for its Ramassery idly, an authentic food from this village.


The potter usually makes his pottery using clay collected from their nearby places or from where it is available. The raw clay is smoothed and made dough mixing it with water using hand. It is then placed in a pottery wheel, a wheel used to mould up the pottery to urns of various shapes and size. With their hand and the pottery wheel, the clay turns into finished pot. The whole process is so amazing and interesting to watch. A product moulded in this way is separated from the wheel using a thin stick. The next step is to harden the clay by placing it in a kiln for baking. They are kept in the kiln for two – three days for hardening. The completed products are ready for sale.

Hundredth Birth Anniversary Celebrated

The centenary birth celebrations of Late Kalamandalam Krishnan Nair and Late Kalamandalam Kalyanikutty Amma, the legends of Indian Classical dance forms, Kathakali and Mohiniyattam,  was held at Thrippunithura, Eranakulam, Kerala on 11th of April. The maestros were honoured with Mohiniyattam and Kathakali performances. The whole event was well organised .

Mohiniyattam

Bharatanatyam Performance by Roopa George

Bharatanatyam performance by Roopa George on 15 April 2014 as a part of Vishu, the New Year in Malayalam Calendar, celebrations at Chottanikkara temple, Eranakulam, Kerala.

Advanced Acting Workshop

Advanced acting workshop by Shri Prasanna, the famous theatre- person, at School of Drama Campus, Thrissur, Kerala. The three day workshop from 11 to 13 April 2014, is organized by the School of Drama Alumni association.

Shri  Prasanna  is a playwright and director from Karnataka, India. He was a student of National School of Drama and had won several awards including Sangeet Natak Academy Award.

School of Drama, Thrissur is a unique institution in Kerala affiliated with the National School of Drama  providing training in theatre arts. The institution established in 1977 at Aranattukara, Thrissur, the cultural capital of Kerala, is recognized by University of Calicut.  

Centenary Celebrations of the Maestros of Indian Classical Dance

The hundredth birth anniversary of Kalamandalam Krishnan Nair and Kalamandalam Kalyanikutty Amma, the legends of the classical dance forms of Kerala - Kathakali and Mohiniyattam- are to be celebrated on 11^th April 2014 at Layam Ground, Thrippunithura, Kerala.

Kalamandalam Krishnan Nair (1914-1990), who was titled ‘Padmashree’ in 1970, had done rich contributions to Kathakali, the traditional classical dance drama of Kerala. The artist, born in 1914 is a native of Payyannur, North Kerala . Kalamandalam Kalyanikutty Amma (1915-1999), the Mohiniyattam exponent and native of Tirunnavaya, uplifted the art form to mainstream and popularized it. 

The centenary celebrations will be inaugurated by G Karthikeyan, Speaker of Kerala Legislative Assembly, on 11/Apr/2014 at 05.00pm. Mohiniyattam performances by students of Kalyanikutty Amma organized by Sreedevi Rajan and Kala Vijayan, the daughters of the artist couple, will be staged at 06.00pm. Another highlight of the day is the Kathakali performance which will be staged from 07.30pm onwards. Story: ‘Nalacharitham Naalam Divasam’ (Nalacharitham-the fourth day).

Character& Artists:

Pakuthipurappadu (Introductory performance)by Pallippuram Sunil and Biju Bhasker;

Bahukan :   Padmashree Kalamandalam Gopi

Damayanthi : Margi Vijayan

Kesini: Kudamaloor Murali Krishnan

Song  : Kalamandalam Gopalakrishnan,  Kottakkal Madhu,  Kalamandalam Babu Namboothiri, Kalanilayam Rajeevan

Percussion:

Chenda: Kalamandalam Unnikrishnan, Kottakkal Prasad

Maddalam :  Kalamandalam Sankara Warrier,  Kalamandalam Achutha Warrier, Arundev Warrier

Costumes & Make-up : Kalanilayam Saji

Stage support:  Manoj,  Thrippunithura Sasi,  Cherthala Surendran,  Bhavaneeswari Kathakaliyogam

Heritage Kerala: Paakkanaar Thottam- The Biannual Festival

Heritage Kerala: Paakkanaar Thottam- The Biannual Festival: Paakkanaar Thottam - A biannual festival dedicated to the legendary character Paakkanaar , is celebrated by the members in the communi...

Bharathanatyam by Neelamana Sisters

Dr. Draupati Praveen & Dr. Padmini Krishnan, the Neelamana Sisters is performing Bharathanatyam at Sri Padmanabha Swami Temple in Trivandrum, Kerala. The performance is held as a part of Painkuni festival which is conducted in the temple from 04 to 13 April 2014.

Date / Time :06 April 2014 (Sunday); 5:30 to 6:30 pm

Courtesy: Draupati Praveen 

Kuchipudi workshops at Thrissur, Kerala

Kuchippudi workshops under two maestros of Kuchipudi, the Indian classical dance form, are going on at Thrissur, the cultural capital of Kerala. In this summer, Thrissur town is organizing two workshops on Kuchipudi, the dance form of Andra Pradesh, for enthusiastic students of Indian Classical dance forms.

Sathyaanjali Academy of Kuchipudi Dance headed by Smt. Anupama Mohan, the talented Kuchipudi dancer, is organising Kuchipudi Naatyabhivrudhi Workshop at Vivekodeyam Boys High School, Thrissur. The workshop organized from 30 March to 06^th April 2014 conducted special classes by Shri Ravishankar Vempati, the son of Dr. Vempati Chinna Satyam, a legend of Kuchipudi dance form and Guru of Anupama Mohan. The regular classes are conducted by Smt. Anupama. Sathyaanjali Academy, one of the frontline institutions in Kuchipudi, is conducting workshops since 12 years all over Kerala. The academy has branches in Thiruvananthapuram, Thrissur and Malappuram districts.

Navaneetham Cultural Trust, an organization to promote Indian Classical Arts, conducts workshops and events providing platform for artists. The trust, headquartered at Thrissur, has organized a 10 day workshop on Kuchipudi from 01^st to 10^th April 2014 under the guidance of Kalai Mamani Madhavapeddi Murthy, a disciple of Dr. Vempati Chinna Satyam and the one who runs a dance school named Siva Foundation at Chennai. The workshop with a pool of young talents is conducted at Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Academy Natyagriham at Thrissur.

Image Courtesy: Navaneetham Cultural Trust