Sri Sai Dance Academy and Kuchipudi Parampara Foundation (Bengaluru) present Nandanar Charitam
Nandanar is the 18th of the 63 Nayanars, who were Tamil poet saints devoted to Lord Shiva. He was born in the village of Adhanur, Tamil Nadu, centuries ago, in an agricultural community considered untouchable. He lived with unwavering devotion to Lord Shiva, inspiring those around him to follow this path of faith. His immense devotion triumphed social barriers and prompted divine intervention that led him first to the Sivaloganathar Temple in Thirupungur, and then to the Thillai Natarajar Temple in Chidambaram, leading to the feet of His Lord. Nandanar’s life was memorialized in Sri Gopalakrishna Bharati’s Nandanar Charitam, which was in the kathakalakshepam genre in the Tamil language. Its songs have also been performed in Carnatic concerts and Bharatanatyam choreographies.
Paying respects to Sri Gopalakrishna Bharathi’s magnum opus, today’s production presents the legend of Nandanar through the Kuchipudi nruthya natakam format, with a vibrant musical presentation that features original songs written in Telugu. This production has been conceived and choreographed by Acharya Deepa Narayanan Sashindran with Grant Support from Sangeeth Natak Akademi, New Delhi.
Cast:
Saina Bhandari – Nandanar’s friend, priest
Saira Bhandari – Sutradhara, God
Anusha Chaluvadi – Apsarasa
Aadhya Cherukuri – Villager
Ramya Devalla – Villager, Goddess
Pavithra Kalay – Villager
Ameya King - Nandanar
Srivalli Kommaraju – Villager
Drithi Konatham – Villager, Goddess
Vindhya Nagandla - Sivagami
Pavithra Polepalli – Sutradhara, Goddess
Kamalita Rajagopalan - Landlord
Sahaj Sagiraju – Siva
Lakshmi Sagiraju - Goddess
Nikhila Sammeta – Villager
Saatvik Sista - Karthikeyan
Sahaasra Sista – Ganapati
Kala Subramani - Villager
Akshaya Tudimilla – Villager
Credits:
Concept & choreography: Smt Deepa Narayanan Sashindran
Direction: Smt Sarada Jammi & Smt. Ameya King (Sri Sai Dance Academy)
Lyrics: Sri Venkat Gadepalli
Music: Smt Sweta Prasad & Sri Renuka Prasad
Lighting & Multimedia Design: Sri Janardhan Urs
Tour Curator: Smt Sandhyasree Atmakuri (Natya Dharmi Performing Arts)
Photography, Videography, and Brochure: Sri Hari Venkatesan (Lasting Impressions)
A/V Tech Support: Mr. R. Jon Shelley, Ms. Isabella Vincenzes, and team (Perkinson Center for the Arts)