BY RAVI R. PONANGI

Atlanta based Srivaani Kuchipudi Academy raised $ 27,000 for child development projects of Vibha with a presentation of “Sri Vighneswara Vaibhavam”, a dance drama in Kuchipudi style. The dance drama was presented recently at the Rialto Center of the Arts, Georgia State University.
“Sri Vighneswara Vaibhavam”, an original production of Srivaani Kuchipudi Academy is yet another landmark in the growing tradition of classical music and dance in Atlanta. When the “Mangalam” was over, the long and thunderous applause from the house-full capacity of audience was a testament to four years of meticulous choreography and planning by Ms. Revathi Komanduri, and months of dedicated practice by her 30 plus students. 

At the conclusion of the dance drama, while felicitating Ms. Revati Komanduri, Dr. P.V. Rao, an eminent Literati of Atlanta summed up the entire experience - “Borrowing words from the lyrics of the drama itself, I will say, it is not an exaggeration to describe the event as a feast for the eyes, sweet melody for the ears, satisfaction to the fullness and an amazing performance”. Dr. Rao also told the audience an interesting story about Kuchipudi dance. He said, when Kaliyuga started Gods of heavens wanted to enter Bhooloka (earthly world). You go into black stones in huge temples. No movement, no mingling. You can not control your emotions. You will spoil humanity. This is what the Gods were told. Of course they felt and begged Lord Brahma. Then Brahma said okay, when Bharata promotes this classical dance and brings characters to this earthly world you can enter those characters and dancers showing your emotions, pleasure and happiness. In this dance drama, Gods and Goddesses are come here and show their characters.

“This is my humble attempt in furthering the art of Kuchipudi in the best way that I can. It is my offering to my Guru Padmabhushan Dr. Vempati China Satyam” said Komanduri. “With the blessings of Lord Vinayaka and my guru, we presented this dance drama. I am particularly proud today because we presented this ballet with an almost all-girls cast, most of whom were born and raised in this country with the best of values, best of academics and most importantly best of parents. It also gives me immense pleasure because the net proceeds from this program will be given to the child development projects of Vibha, which is striving very hard to make a difference in the lives of underprivileged children” she added. 

The script was written by Sri. Dandibhotla Narayana Murthy for this production and the rich and deep voice of Sri Dandibhotla Venkata Srinavasa Sastry from Hyderabad and the melodious voice of Atlanta’s very own Subhashini Krishnamurthy took the audience to a different world.

The song and dance scene with folk dancers and the Nandi, synchronized by two young artists, brought fresh energy into the ballet. The scene when Shiva beheads the little Vinayaka was stunning and emotional. The excellent timing in lighting and stage management resulted in the magic created in several key moments. 

The academy had earlier reproduced and participated in several dance dramas like “Menaka Vishwamitra” and “Sivoham Sivoham”. These productions benefited several non-profit organizations and in the same spirit, the net proceeds from this dance drama, expected to be more than $27,000, are donated to Vibha. 

Thanking the academy for their support to Vibha through this fund-raiser, Sri. Vijay Vemulapalli, Secretary of Vibha said “It was a pleasure working with Smt. Revathi and Sri. Raghu Komanduri. Vibha would like to thank all the parents and the sponsors for their support and TAMA for their help in the publicity efforts. We especially thank the Hindu Temple of Atlanta for co-sponsoring the show. ”