Dramatic tales at Purana Qila

Featuring some mesmerising glimpses of Indian traditional dance and various choreographies by veteran artists, Sahitya Kala Parishad is organizing a five-day dance festival at Purana Qila. The amalgamation of dance choreographies from different parts of the country showcasing a storyline will make your eyes fixed over them. This festival will showcase manuscripts adapted in different dance forms of India to present a cultural visual treat for the art lovers.

With Manish Sisodia, the Deputy Chief Minister of New Delhi as the chief guest, September 26 i.e. the first day of the festival will feature Santosh Nair and Sadhya Dance group, who will present Indian contemporary dance form on Mahabharata and its treatment on a contemporary line. The second production will be a Kathakali showing performances of the artists with its rigorous, dramatic and vibrant outlook. Mayurbhanj Chhau is very much choreographed with its high energy, control and martial arts spirit.

The second day will see Saroja Vaidyanathan and Ganesa Natyalaya performing Namami Gange, a bharatnatyam recital telling the story of Ganga with a contemporary relevance.

On September 28, one can witness an Odissi dance form by Kiran Segal and Nritya Sangeet Vidyalaya. She is one of the most innovative and outstanding choreographers of Odissi Dance today.

On Friday, i.e. September 29, a dance group, 'Kadamb Centre for Dance and Music' will perform Vivarta. The production, based on the poem 'Ni-ra-tata-dhang,' narrates the actual 'Bols' of the Kathak vocabulary and highlights the movement patterns of the classical technique of Kathak dance. The last day of the festival will see Vanashree Rao showcasing a dance production titled, 'Tripurasura Samhara'. Then the second production will show Markendya where Lord Shiva comes to save his life, and appears from the shivlinga. Moving further, there will be 'Abhimanyu Badh Drona Parva' from Mahabharata.

Lastly, there will a performance depicting the story of 'Mahisasura Mardini', inspired by Pandit Jasraj's rendering of the song; the dancers show the killing of Mahisasura by goddess Durga – a befitting finale on 'bijaya dasami' day.