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Nishagandhi Art and Music Festival 2015

Manju Warrier's Kuchipudi performings Photo

Photo - Tito Kochuveettil

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In the heart of Thiruvananthapuram, Nishagandhi blooms again. Spreading the fragrance of art in God's Own Country. Starting January 20^th, the magic of Nishagandhi Festival will enthral the masses with the vibrant aura of divine music and dance. The cool balmy air of Kanakakkunnu will have a different story to tell on those nights. So come and be part of the grand celebration that will remain in your memory for quite a while.

Kuchipudi is a Classical Indian dance from Andhra Pradesh, India. It is also popular all over South India. Kuchipudi is the name of a village in the Divi Taluka of Krishna district that borders the Bay of Bengal and also the surname of the resident Brahmins practicing this traditional dance form, it acquired the present name.

The performance usually begins with some stage rites, after which each of the characters come on to the stage and introduces him/herself with a dharavu (a small composition of both song and dance) to introduce the identity, set the mood, of the character in the drama. The drama then begins. The dance is accompanied by song which is typically Carnatic music. The singer is accompanied by mridangam (a classical South Indian percussion instrument), violin, flute and the tambura (a drone instrument with strings which are plucked). Ornaments worn by the artists are generally made of a lightweight wood called Boorugu. It originated in the seventh century.

Manju Warrier was always a Kuchipudi dancer. Though she never performed in public for a long time, it was a part of her, just like skin and muscles. she was learning Bharathanatyam, Mohiniyattam and Kuchipudi. Though she was initiated into classical dance forms by Smt. Selinkumari at Nagarcoil, she trained under highly revered gurus like Smt. RLV Devi, Sri RLV Venu, Kalamandalam Sri Gopinath and N.V. Krishnan Master. Manju Warrier currently is the disciple of renowned danseuse Smt.Geetha Padmakumar who is herself the protegee of veteran legend in Kuchipudi, Dr. Vempati Chinna Satyam. It's these varied influences coupled with ritualistic & disciplined training that helped her shape her as an exemplary dancer.

Manju Warrier is a Malayalam film actress. She was among the popular lead actress in Malayalam cinema during the mid to late-1990s. She is also a Kuchipudi artist trained under Guru Geetha Padmakumar. - See more at: http://thiraseela.com/artist/profile.php?perfmrid=197#sthash.AoanxQLd.dpuf