What would be a better time to celebrate the rivers of India than the monsoon season? As dark clouds drift over Tamil Nadu, Chennai this week is hosting a river themed dance festival.
Sponsored by Natyarangam, the dance department of city-based cultural organisation Narada Gana Sabha, the 12-year-old dance festival has a different theme every year. This year the theme is the depiction of important rivers of India.
Being shown throughout this week are a series of dances - symbolising the Ganges, the Yamuna, the Narmada, the Brahmaputra, the Cauvery and several others.
The dancers come from different states.
A lot of research has gone into the choreography and each river has a research team attached to it. The dances show the origin of Ganges, the journey of the Narmada and the folklore associated with it. The dances will also depict the songs of the different regions they flow through and references made to the rivers in ancient texts.
The depiction in dance of the Narmada river to be shown Thursday is by Vaibhav Arekar, with Gujarati and Marathi folk music as accompaniment, says Sudha Seshaiyan, a resource person for the Narmada team.
{{/usCountry}}The depiction in dance of the Narmada river to be shown Thursday is by Vaibhav Arekar, with Gujarati and Marathi folk music as accompaniment, says Sudha Seshaiyan, a resource person for the Narmada team.
{{/usCountry}}The research and choreography for the festival has taken several months.