Festival was supported by the US-India Business Council.
By Malini Sekhar
WASHINGTON, DC: A three-day festival celebrating India’s maestros of music and dance held this past weekend in the Terrace Theater at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts was truly a rare pleasure for anyone with an interest in Indian classical music and dance. Indeed, anyone with an appreciation for beautiful Art in its many forms, would have relished this unique experience.
The second-annual UTSAV festival, supported by the U.S. India-Business Council, featured performances by renowned musicians and dancers as well as inspiring panel discussions with the performers, and additional guest artists that were free to the public on both Saturday and Sunday.
Dr. Jayanthi Kumaresh, a masterful Veena artist opened the festival on Friday and dedicated her performance to Mandolin Sreenivas, a famed musician who had passed away the day before, much to the shock of the Indian music world. Dr. Kumaresh’s technical skill coupled with her palpable enjoyment in the music moving through her made it a performance that ended far too quickly.
Saturday offered an impressive double header with music concerts by famed Carnatic vocalist and composer Bombay Jayashri, and the talented Hindustani musician, Rahul Sharma on the santoor. Both performers delighted their audiences with thoughtful, and inspired performances within their respective classical styles.
The last day of UTSAV was a dazzling treat, especially for dance enthusiasts featuring two stalwarts in their individual dance forms, the great Kathak legend Pandit Birju Maharaj, and renowned Bharatanatyam exponent Alarmel Valli.
Maharaj, supported by two wonderful disciples, truly justified his stature as the consummate artist, offering enthralled audiences with glimpses of his expertise in rhythm, music, poetry, visual art and of course the dance form itself. Finally, the festival ended on an incredibly high note with a sublime performance by Alarmel Valli. Valli offered a perfect combination of grace, form, beauty, and bursts of exuberance, all of which she is well-known for. Even her introductions to the items that she performed offered a kind of poetry that left audiences captivated.
It is a rare chance for audiences in the U.S. to get opportunities to see great Indian artists, perhaps a few opportunities during the course of the year. That’s what made UTSAV so special because it was an opportunity for audiences to experience one of India’s treasures – its legendary artists, in one place and together. In addition, it was a wonderful and uncommon opportunity for those involved in Indian dance and music in the U.S. to have greater exposure to the experts in the field – whether it is by watching or attending panels featuring the artists.
UTSAV was conceived and produced by Sivam, Inc., a nonprofit organization in the DC area, with the vision of bringing world-class Indian artists to a world-class stage in the U.S. The festival seeks to not only give the Indian community in the U.S. an opportunity to experience top dancers and musicians from India, but it is also an effort to bring mainstream awareness to India’s rich ancient traditions in the arts.
For those of us who love Indian classical arts, it is our hope that the “UTSAV experience,” will become a regular fixture to the DC area performing arts scene.