Ramayana Kalpavrksam in Hyderabad: a smorgasbord of classical music, dance, talks and workshops

Bharatanatyam dancer Ananda Shankar Jayant on the three-day multi-arts festival Ramayana Kalpavrksam to begin in Hyderabad on March 31

Come March 31, Hyderabadis could participate in Ramayana Kalpavrksam, a three-day multi-arts festival centred around the Ramayana. Conceptualised by Hyderabad-based Bharatanatyam guru Ananda Shankar Jayant, the festival features activities to suit different ages and interest groups. “Telling and retelling the Ramayana has not tired the narrator, the viewer, the seer or the doer; we continue to engage with it. With that idea we also want to bring in a different audience perspective and engagement towards traditional and non-traditional art forms in the city,” says Ananda. The festival coincides with Srirama Navami on March 30.

With her favourite epic Ramayana as an overarching umbrella for varied events, choosing Ramayana Kalpavrksham for the festival title was easy; it borrows from the book Srimadramayana Kalpavrkshamu by the late Vishwanada Satyanarayana. “I sought permission from the family to use the title.”

While music, dance performances and workshops have been curated by Ananda, talks and discourses in the mornings have been curated by Kuchipudi dancer Anupama Kylash.

Choodamani Pradhanam, a very popular 1968 dance drama by Kalakshetra, sets the tone of the festival on March 31, with a live orchestra. The narration starts with Sita’s abduction by Ravana and ends with Hanuman bringing back the choodamani to Rama.

A team of musicians headed by Dilkash Bharti Sadanand Vishwakarma recites Sundara Kanda from Tulasidas’ Ramayan on April 1 at 7.30am. The one-and-a-half-hour recitation will be followed by talks by Ami Ganatra, Hemant Pandey and Nagaraj Paturi

While workshops by Hema Kannan and Rahul Teddy on April 1 and 2, from 2.30pm onwards are for enthusiasts of rangoli and garlands.

Anupama Hoskare’s puppets will regale the audience at 6pm, followed by Bhavayayami Raghuramam, a dance performance by Shankarananda Kalakshetra, headed by Ananda. The day ends with a Harikatha Navarasa Ramayanam by Visakha Hari.