Bharatanatyam dancer choreographer musician singer Raghunath Manet

Special peformance

 

HAVING MADE a name for himself in a predominatelv female-dominated dance form of Bharatanatyam, dancer-choreographer-musician-singer Raghunath Manet is now coming to Delhi for a special performance titled "Pondicherrv -- Homage ta Rani Gopal" (his guru).

Born in the then French colony of Pondicheny. Raghunath is an ambassador of traditional art forms and one of the few males who have introduced Bharatanatyam to the West, where male dancers have been conspicuous by their absence since Ram Gopal, who in 1950 performed at Champs Elysees. Raghunath is also probably the only indian artiste performing in both music and dance and has to his credit more than ten veena CDs and two dance DVDs - " Pondicherry" and "Ornkara". He has studied under gurus Kaumati Sankara lyer. Rajeswari Padmanaban and Ranganayaki Rajagopalan and graduated from Kalakshetra with distinction. He has performed in festivals all over the world including France, Italy, Britain, Austria, Switzerland, Hong Kong, Australia, Sri Lanka, Africa, Singapore, the United States and Mauritius.

Speaking about his trip and his forth coming performance at Alliance Francaise in New Delhi on January 17, Raghunath, who has devoted his life to the deep study af traditional dance repertoire, says: "The theme was selected ta pay homage to my hometown Pondicherry, which is celebrating 50 years of independence. Also, through my dance I have always sought to send a strong image of lost traditions. For this performance I have composed the music and choreographed the show, with inputs from my colleagues. What you will see is a unique presentation that has drawn inspiration from temple carvings, which has often enabled me ta take a peek into great heights of creativits- in the form of dance and music. My movements are based on my, observation of Shiva's postures as represented in ancient temple sculptures and make up the greater part of my public shows."

Pondicherry is a unique marriage of music, dance and sang which made its debut during the Nijinsky Awards ceremony at the Monaco Dance Forum. It was presented to over 6,500 spectators during four evenings of sold-out performance in Paris and received outstanding critical acclaim.

Official Raghunath Manet's website

http://www.raghunathmanet.com

The Hindu
By Madhur Tankha, Bindu Shajan Perappadan and Anjali Dhal San. lanta
DVD et CD available www.fnac.fr