SAMANVAY ARTS FESTIVAL 2026
Golden Jubilee of Sri Raja Rajeshwari Kalaniketan
One Divine Heroine. Four Dance Forms. Her Power Retold.
Saturday 19 September 2026 · Chowdiah Memorial Hall, Malleswaram, Bengaluru · from 5.00 pm
BENGALURU — Sri Raja Rajeshwari Kalaniketan, founded in Bengaluru in 1976 by PNS Murthy, father of Dr Veena Murthy Vijay, completes fifty years in 2026. Five decades and five generations of dancers close in a single evening at Chowdiah Memorial Hall.
A double bill. Two full productions share the evening. In the first, a mortal queen ascends to the heavens and returns with what she came for. In the second, eleven celestial women make the journey in the opposite direction.
Many of India’s most decorated classical artists will be in the hall — Sangeet Natak Akademi awardees, a Padma Bhushan, and senior gurus from Bengaluru and Chennai.
The evening opens at 5.00 pm with the felicitation of senior gurus, among them a former Director of the Kalakshetra Foundation.
The double bill · Satyabhama — one heroine, four vocabularies
Among the heroines of the epics, Satyabhama stands apart. Krishna’s proudest queen meets him as an equal and is answered as one — her spirit undimmed, her voice her own. She is the heroine of Bama Kalapam, the Kuchipudi dance-drama attributed to Siddhendra Yogi, and for one evening she steps out of the repertoire that has always held her, to be read across four classical languages in a single continuous presentation of seventy-five minutes.
“She is the only wife, out of all the sixteen thousand wives, who rode with Krishna to the battlefield and helped him slay the demon Narakasura.” — Dr Veena Murthy Vijay
Lakshmi Gopalaswamy — Bharatanatyam, Bengaluru — opens the evening. Two-time Kerala State Film Award winner and Karnataka State Best Actress; dancer first. “I am very excited to explore the Queen Satyabhama.”
Vidha Lal — Kathak, Jaipur gharana, New Delhi. Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar, Sangeet Natak Akademi.
Gopika Varma — Mohiniyattam, Chennai. Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for 2018; the first dancer to receive the Kalaimamani for Mohiniyattam.
Dr Veena Murthy Vijay — Kuchipudi, Bengaluru — closes. Sangeet Natak Akademi Puraskar for the year 2024, conferred by the President of India on 13 August 2026; D.Litt, Karnataka State Dr Gangubhai Hanagal Music and Performing Arts University.
Mysore B. Nagaraj — Sutradhar. He narrates in English.
Four forms, four dancers and a Sutradhar. Bharatanatyam gives her line and architecture; Kathak quickens her; Mohiniyattam draws her inward, until feeling moves ahead of story; and Kuchipudi returns her, at last, to the tradition that first gave her voice.
“Classical dance is not a museum piece, it is a living language. It must grow with society while staying rooted in its grammar.” — Dr Veena Murthy Vijay
Vidha Lal, who takes the heroine into Kathak, describes what the piece asked of her. Satyabhama is “usually remembered as the proud queen,” she says, “but in this piece I found her a deeply loving wife.”
The double bill · Apsara — when the celestial daughters descended
What if the Apsaras were never meant to be remembered merely for their beauty? What if their descent was not a fall, but a divine journey — one that shaped the destiny of humanity?
When history speaks of the Apsaras, it remembers their beauty. When the Purāas speak of them, they reveal their destiny.ṇ
Through dance, music, theatre and abhinaya, Apsara traces the journey from Devaloka to Bhuloka — from heaven to earth — a journey of grace, sacrifice and destiny.
Eleven apsaras are presented:
Urvashi · Alambusha · Punjikasthalaa · Kamya · Vishwachi · Adrikaa · Budbudha · Harini · Soma · Manohari · Menaka
Every descent was not a fall — it was a divine mission. Every curse was not an end — it was the beginning of a greater destiny.
Were they truly cursed — or were they chosen?
Eleven apsaras across four classical forms — Bharatanatyam, Kuchipudi, Kathak and Odissi — danced by nine established dancers from different schools, among them Shama Krishna, Prateeksha Kashi and Rohini Prabhath.
Direction — Dr Veena Murthy Vijay · Music — Praveen D Rao · Script — Arjun Bharadwaj
Presented by Sri Rajarajeshwari Kalaniketan.
The two productions are two halves of one journey
One heroine rises from the earth to claim her power; the celestials descend from the heavens to find theirs. Each journey asks the same quiet question — what it costs to reach for something, and what is gained in the reaching.
Gopika Varma, telling the Parijata episode, lands on the line that gives the story its warmth:
“The tree is in her courtyard — but all the branches are falling into yours.” — Gopika Varma
The evening
5.00 pm — Award ceremony. Senior gurus are felicitated, among them Smt Revathi Ramachandran (Bharatanatyam), Smt Anitha Guha (Bharatanatyam) and Dr Hamsini Nagendra (Carnatic music). Smt Revathi Ramachandran was Director of the Kalakshetra Foundation, 2018–2023.
The awards are followed by a double bill — Satyabhama, then Apsara.
Lights and production for the entire event — Surya N Rao.
Honoured guests — all carry the same billing:
Prof. Dr G.N. Nagamani Srinath — Carnatic vocalist. Sangeet Natak Akademi Award 2010; Sangita Kala Acharya, Madras Music Academy.
Smt Nandini Ramani — Bharatanatyam, Balasaraswati tradition. Sangeet Natak Akademi Award; Executive Board member, Sangeet Natak Akademi; Secretary, Madras Music Academy.
Smt Nirupama & Sri T D Rajendra — Kathak. Abhinava Dance Company, which they founded together in 1994. Karnataka Kalashree 2011; Sangeet Natak Akademi Award 2023.
Shatavadhani Dr R. Ganesh — scholar of Sanskrit and Kannada, revivalist of avadhana. Padma Bhushan, 2026.
The morning — Adavu Jam and Creative Lab, 9.30 am – 1.00 pm
Practitioners across forms in a shared creative lab, including a short Bharatanatyam presentation by Ravali Mylarvapu. Open to all comers, lunch included. Stalls and a photo booth run through the day.
Honoured guests for the morning session: Smt Shubha Dhananjay, Chairperson of the Karnataka Sangeetha Nritya Academy, Government of Karnataka; and Smt Pusthakam Rama, Sangeet Natak Akademi awardee and a renowned Carnatic musician for dance.
Booking
Tickets are on sale now.
kuchipudibangalore.com/festival.html#book-tickets
Chowdiah Memorial Hall, Malleswaram, Bengaluru.
Press — interviews, hi-res images and the full fact sheet:
Media Coordination — Mahesh · mahesh3560@gmail.com · +91 90362 59062
