2005 Events

Sangam Diwali Nite - November, 2005

'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 4, 2004
Where: Walker Memorial, MIT.

MIT Natya will peform the following Bharatha Natyam pieces at this event:

Slokam and Natesha Kauthuvam

Raagam: Hamsadhwani
Taalam: Chatushra Ekam
Music composed by: Tanjavur Quartette

We start with a prayer (sloka) to Lord Shiva, the third god in the Hindu Trinity. He is the god of destruction as well as the god of dance in his 'Nataraj' form. The meaning of the prayer is; "We bow to the pure Shiva whose body is the universe, whose speech is the universal language and whose ornaments are the moon and stars." This will be followed by the 'Natesha Kauthuvam' which is a fast paced piece in praise of Natesha (Shiva), who is worshipped by all the sages and who dances with a drum in one hand. In a Kauthuvam, swarams (musical notes) are usually intertwined with the lyrics of the song. Thus it has both nritta (rhythmic footwork) and abhinaya (emotions) components in its choreography.

Theeratha Villayattu Pillai

Raagam: Ragamalaika
Taalam: Tishra Ekam
Lyrics: Subramania Bharathi
Music sung by: Bombay Sisters
Choreography : Krithika Sridharan & Charuleka Varadharajan

This dance depicts the pranks of the mischievous god Krishna. It is narrated by a gopika (female cowherd), who recalls how Krishna taunted her when they used to play together.

Dancers: Krithika Sridharan, Charuleka Varadharajan

Natyanjali - September, 2005

Natya presents Natyanjali (an offering of dance), an evening of Indian Classical Dance on the 30th of September. Natyanjali, Natya's annual dance show, has performances by students and affiliates of MIT. This year's Natyanjali will feature three dance forms from India - Bharathanatyam, Kuchipudi and Odissi.

Date: September 30th, 2005
Time: 7:30pm
Venue: Little Kresge Auditorium, MIT
Tickets: Email natya-tix[at]mit[dot]edu to purchase tickets in advance. Tickets will also be available at the door.

Visit the Natyanjali '05 webpage for more information.

Photo by Padmashree Ramachandran

Performing Misram Alarippu in the S-P courtyard

Sidney Pacific cultural show - July, 2005

Natya will be performing in a 1 hour Bharathanatyam recital organized by the Sidney Pacific dorm government.

When: 6:00pm, Saturday July 30, 2005
Where: Sidney-Pacific Dormitory Courtyard, MIT.

The presentation will first cover the basics of Bharathanatyam, which includes a demo of hand, eye, head, neck & leg movements as well as a few steps. This will be followed by a few items:

  • Misram alarippu (Ragam: Yamuna Kalyani) - A dance in a 7 beat cycle which puts together a series of basic steps. It is choreographed to represent the blossoming of a flower.
  • Natesha Kauthuvam (Ragam: Hamsadhwani) - A dance praising the Lord Shiva, who is the third god of the Hindu Trinity. He is the god of destruction; as well as the god of dance in his 'Nataraj' form
  • Varanam - Vanajaksha (Ragam: Behag) - This dance is in praise of the Lord Vishnu (the second god in the Hindu Trinity); the god of protection. We will be performing a couple of stanzas from a longer piece of music. The first piece will describe the 'Gajendra Moksham' where Lord Vishnu rescues an elephant devotee from a crocodile. The second piece will be about Lord Krishna (an incarnation of Vishnu) reciting the Bhagavad Gita to inspire Arjuna to fight the war against his kin.
  • Padam - Yaaro Ivar Yaaro (Ragam: Bhairavi) - A dance depicting Sita's feelings when she sees falls in love with Rama (an incarnation of Vishnu) after seeing him for the first time. Yaaro Ivar Yaaro literally means "Who is he?".
  • Thillana (Ragam: Parasu) - A fast and lively dance, which traditionally concludes a Bharathanatyam recital.

Performers

Dancers: Gayathri Srinivasan, Soumya Ramanathan, Sumati Ram-Mohan, Krithika Sridharan, Avantika Modi & Charuleka Varadharajan.

Musicians: Aarthi Chandrasekaran (vocal), Saikat Guha (violin), Gayathri Srinivasan (nattuvangam)

Photo by Lakshman Pernenkil

Pushpanjali at the Z-Center

Susan Hockfield Block Party - May 2005

Natya performed at the block party that was held to welcome MIT's new president, Dr. Susan Hockfield. The 15 minute presentation featured a Pushpanjali (invocation dance), the Misram Alarippu (7-beat cycle dance) and a set of slokas praying to the gods Ganesha, Saraswathi, Lakshmi & Shiva.

Date: May 6, 2005
Venue: Zesiger Sports & Fitness Center, MIT

Dancers: Neera Jain, Radha Kalluri, Avantika Modi, Sumati Ram-Mohan, Krithika Sridharan, Priyanka Sundaresan, Charuleka Varadharajan





Photo by Jay-kumar Sundararajan

The dancers in an Abhang in praise of Lord Krishna

iFair - April 2005

iFair or "International Fair" is an annual event at MIT, hosted by the International Students Office (ISO). This year's iFair was held on a nice sunny day on Friday, April 22.

At this event, the international clubs at MIT get a chance to showcase their cultures to the rest of the community. Each club gets a table for itself & gets a chance to perform on the steps of the Stratton Student Center. In this year's set of performances, Natya represented India / MIT Sangam.

Dancers (L to R in picture) Sumati Ram-Mohan, Charuleka Varadharajan and Priyanka Sundaresan did a repeat performance of their C-show dance.



South Asian Cultural Show - April 2005

MIT's Annual South Asian Culture Show features dance and music from all regions of South Asia. This time, ten members from MIT Natya performed a dance praising the Lord Krishna, followed by a kummi & a short dedication to the Tsunami victims. The dance was choreographed by Gayathri Srinivasan.

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

Dancers: (L to R, top row) Sheila Krisha, Anicham Kumaraswamy, Avantika Modi, Charuleka Varadharajan, Rasika Kumar, Priyanka Sundaresan

Dancers contd.: (L to R, bottom row) Radha Kalluri, Sumati Ram-Mohan, Neera Jain, Krithika Sridharan.


Poster made by Gayathri Srinivasan

Margam - March, 2005

An Evening of Indian Classical Dance by Smt. Gayathri Srinivasan

Date: March 20, 2005
Time: 6:00pm
Venue: Little Kresge Auditorium, MIT

Gayathri Srinivasan was trained in the Kalakshetra style of Bharatha Natyam by Jayalakshmi Eshwar from Abhinay-Dehli and by Krishnaveni Lakshmanan from Kalakshetra-Madras. Gayathri is interested in all dance styles and in applying their influence to her choreography. Besides Bharatha Natyam, Gayathri has been trained in jazz, social dance, and some folk dances of India. She enjoys teaching and developing new choreography, and is currently pursuing her post-doctoral studies at MIT in the Biology department.

Visit her website at http://www.members.tripod.com/srinivasan26

Tickets: $5 MIT, $7 Non-MIT.
Email natya-tix[at]mit[dot]edu to purchase tickets in advance.

Tamil Sangam Pongal Vizha - February, 2005

On February 19, 2005, the Boston area Tamil Sangam celebrated their Pongal Vizha. Pongal is the harvest festival of Tamil Nadu and it usually occurs in mid-January. This year's Pongal Vizha was celebrated a little later than usual, in order for it to be organized as a Tsunami benefit fundraiser. The event was held in the Littleton High School, Littleton, Massachusetts.

Sumati Ram-Mohan, Krithika Sridharan, Priyanka Sundaresan & Charuleka Varadharajan represented MIT Natya at the event. They performed 3 dances that were choreographed by Gayathri Srinivasan. The first dance was an Abhang in praise of Lord Krishna, the second a Mishram Alarippu and the last a piece reminiscent of the Tsunami disaster, asking the audience to contribute towards the fund.