2004 Events

Photo by Jay-kumar Sundararajan

(L to R) Charu, Priya and Neera in Krishna Thillana

Sangam Diwali Nite - November, 2004

'Diwali Nite' is MIT Sangam's annual show in celebration of Diwali, the festival of lights. The show features Indian music, dance and drama as well as a 3 course Indian dinner.

When: 7:00pm, Friday November 5, 2004
Where: Walker Memorial, MIT.

MIT Natya performed the following pieces at this event:

Krishna Thillana

Raagam: Ragamalika
Taalam: Adi
This dance is in praise of the Divine Child, Krishna. It tells the story of how Lord Krishna defeated the evil serpent Kaliya and danced on top of its head to the amazement of onlookers.
Dancers: Neera Jain, Priyanka Sundaresan, Charuleka Varadharajan Choreographed by Rasika Kumar

Yaaro Ivar Yaaro

Raagam: Ragamalaika
Taalam: Adi
This piece describes the first meeting of Sita and Rama in the city of Mithila. It shows how they fell in love and felt a strong connection in spite of meeting for the first time. Dancer: Gayathri Srinivasan

Poster made by Charuleka Varadharajan

Ramayana - September, 2004

This award-winning 2 hour dance drama enacted the Sanskrit epic Ramayana in Indian, Indonesian (Balinese) and Thai classical dance styles. This program was presented as a joint effort between MIT-Natya, Thai Students at MIT and Sanggar Kinanthi Indonesian Arts & Cultural Association.

The presentation won the "ARCADE (Assisting Recurring Cultural and Diversty Events) Event of the Year Award" at MIT. ARCADE is a funding organization at MIT and was one of the sponsors of the event.

Date: September 26
Time: 1:00pm & 6:30pm
Venue: Little Kresge Auditorium, MIT

The Ramayana, meaning the journey (aayana) of Rama, is a mythical tale describing the life of Prince Rama, the crown prince of the kingdom of Kosala. Rama has been exiled for a period of 14 years to the wilderness, with his beautiful wife Sita and his noble brother Lakshmana.

In the 14th year of their exile, Princess Sita is coveted and kidnapped by a 10 headed demon, Ravana. During the search for Sita, the two brothers make friendships and alliances that culminate in a great war between good and evil.

For further details about the event, check out the Ramayana webpage

Photo by Dan

The dancers finish with the namaskaram

Natyanjali - September, 2004

Natya presented Natyanjali (an offering of dance), an evening of Indian Classical Dance on the 18th and a repeat performance on the 19th of September. Natyanjali, Natya's annual dance show, has performances by students and affiliates of MIT. This year's Natyanjali featured three dance forms from India - Bharathanatyam, Kathak & Manipuri.

Date: September 18 & 19, 2004
Time: 7:30pm
Venue: Little Kresge Auditorium, MIT

Dancers (in order of performance): Radha Kalluri, Sumati Ram-Mohan, Siddhi Shah, Rasika Kumar, Kavita Radhakrishnan, Sheila Krishna, Prachi Jain, Neera Jain, Priyanka Sundaresan, Charuleka Varadharajan

For further details about the event, check out the Natyanjali '04 webpage

Photo Courtesy SAAS

20 Bharatha Natyam dancers in Ramayana

Mitwa, South Asian Cultural Show - April 2004

MIT's Annual South Asian Culture Show features dance and music from all regions of South Asia. This time, twenty (!) members of MIT Natya participated making it the largest dance we've ever performed in. The dance was in praise of Lord Rama, and enacted a short version 7-min of the Ramayana. The dance was choreographed by Rasika Kumar

Date: April 16, 2005
Venue: Kresge Auditorium, MIT

Dancers: Sudha Amarnath, Punita Bhansali, Anurupa Ganguly, Aditi Garg, Neera Jain, Radha Kalluri, Varsha Keelara, Sheila Krishna, Rasika Kumar, Anicham Kumaraswamy, Sripriya Natarajan, Sejal Patel, Kavita Radhakrishnan, Sumati Ram-Mohan, Jayodita Sanghvi, Monica Sircar, Priyanka Sundaresan, Ashvini Thammaiah, Prachi Thanawala, Charuleka Varadharajan.