The dance festival organised by Kalavardhini to celebrate the 60th birthday of Bharatnatyam exponent Sucheta Chapekar will witness performances by connoisseursIn the cultural capital of Maharashtra, besides countless cultural events and classical music performances, there is something unusual happening. Between December 4 and 6, a three-day classical dance festival titled Parikrama has been organised by Kalavardhini, an institute that has been teaching Bharatnatyam. The motive behind the event is to pay tribute to founder and renowned Bharatnatyam exponent Sucheta Chapekar on the occasion of her 60th birthday. For the first time in the history of Pune, various dance forms such as Kathak, Odissi, Bharatnatyam, Manipuri and Mohiniattam, will share the same platform at the event dedicated solely to Indian classical dance. "We have been working on this event for the past two years. Sucheta Chapekar's contribution to the field of Indian classical dance is immense and hence, when we approached connoisseurs in the field of dance to attend her birthday, they themselves showed interest in performing on the occasion," says Arundhati Patwardhan, disciple and daughter of Chapekar."On day one, disciples of Sucheta Chapekar like Parimal Phadke, Smita Mahajan, Pauline Reibell, Rama Kunnur and Yashoda Patankar will be presenting Bharatnatyam compositions. This will be followed by Soundarya Laya, a unique blend of rhythm and melody, which is a concept by S Shankar Narayan and B Anantharaman. This will take place at Balgandharva at 5.30 pm," says Patwardhan.Cognoscenti from the field of Indian classical dance forms like Padmavibhushan Sonal Mansingh, Deepti Bhalla, Padmashree Darshana Jhaveri, Shama Bhate and Sucheta Chapekar will be sharing their views on a number of topics like — Communication in Dance, History, Development and Future of Mohiniattam, and so on at the S M Joshi auditorium on December 5 at 9.30 am. "The highlight of day three, which is Chapekar's birthday, is her felicitation by professor C V Chandrashekhar. This will be followed by a performance named — Nrityaganga by Chapekar," adds Patwardhan. Nrityatmika, a book written by Chapekar will also be released on the occasion. The event will conclude with the screening of Vyomgami, a documentary on Chapekar by Amrita Mahadik.
