Mangalore: Kadri Nrithya Vidya Nilaya – Celebrating 75 Years of Success

Daijiworld Media Network – Mangalore (VA)

Mangalore, Sep 9: The platinum jubilee celebrations of district’s oldest dance school, imparting training in Bharatanatyam  - Kadri Nrithya Vidya Nilaya will be held at Town Hall here from Friday September 9 to Sunday September 11.

Dr Veerendra Heggade will preside over the inaugural ceremony. Internationally acclaimed artiste Padmabhushan Natyacharya V P Dhananjayan of Bharatakalanjali, Chennai will inaugurate the platinum jubilee celebration.

Founder - Late U S Krishna Rao (Raja Master)

U K Praveen, Usha Praveen and the Two Sons(Sharan and Chandan)

Kadri Nrithya Vidya Nilaya

Sharan and Chandan Performimg

Several dignitaries will grace the occasion including Dr N S Chanappa Gowda, IAS, deputy commissioner of the district, M Narendra, chairman and MD, Indian Overseas Bank, P Jayaram Bhat, MD, Karnataka Bank, P Dayananda Pai, MD, Century Building Industries Pvt Ltd, Bangalore and Sandhya Pai, Managing Editor, Taranga-Roopatara-Tunturu, Manipal among others.

Programme Highlights

On September 9 the crowd will witness Nrithya Trangini: Sri Raama Pattaabhisheka Bhangam by the troupe of internationally acclaimed artistes  V P Dhananjayan and his wife Shanta Dhananjayan of Bharatakalanjali, Chennai.

September 10 has its importance as a tribute will be paid to the school founder U S Krishna Rao through cultural programme named after him, Raja Vaibhava. His daughters, Nirmala Manjunath, Nrithya Niketan, Bang, Shailaja Madhusudhan, NVN, Mumbai, Sandhya Keshav Rao, NVN, Bang, daughter-in-law Savitha Arun, Nrithya Vidya Niketan, Bang and grand children will take the opportunity to give their ode to the dance maestro by presenting Rukmini Swayamvara and Sundarakanda from Epic Ramayana.

The valedictory of the platinum jubilee will rightly see the release of souvenir to mark the historical event followed by Nrithya Vaibhava, a cultural presentation by students of Kadri Nrithya Vidya Nilaya.    

The Success Story of the Institute

The school established in the year 1936 by Natyarani Shantala awardee legendary U S Krishna Rao, fondly known as ‘Raja Master’ among his students has reached the milestone of 75 years.
Krishna Rao, who was the pioneer of the art in district, is also among the men responsible for the revival of Bharatanatyam in the state.

Despite having the honour of receiving an award from the former president of India Dr S Radhakrishnan, the institute was also bestowed with the name Nrithya Vidya Nilaya by him during Krishna Rao’s visit to Delhi in 1953 after remaining unnamed for as many as 17 years. His dedicated service as a school teacher earned him the State Award in 1972, while Sangeetha Nrithya Academy conferred him with award, Karnataka Kala Tilaka. He won the State Award for dance in 1992 and was a member of the South Zone Cultural Centre, Tanjore for four long years. He was born Nov 5, 1914 and dedicated over seven decades in promoting art before leaving the world on Jan 10, 2007. Rao’s wife, Jayalakshmi was the inspiring spirit behind the dance institution during his early struggle.

Krishna Rao’s son U K Praveen then took over as the director of the school along with his wife Usha Praveen. Having secured a diploma in Civil Engineering, Praveen worked as Civil Technician at Shell Pulau Bukam, Singapore from 1983 to 86 before dedicating his life wholly to the art, while Usha, daughter of Y Vasudev Rao and Jayalaxmi Yermal apart from imparting music training, also has penned literature for dance ballets including Yesu Christa Katha Mala, Rasa Leela, Palani Mahatme and Koti-Chennaya. She is the first teacher in coastal Karnataka whose student presented Rangapravesha in music. 

The dancer-musician couple has not only taken forward the art’s lofty tradition, but also has stood for institute’s very ethos and standard. Since 1995, the institute also imparts training in Carnatic and light music to the interested in the art. The duo has also introduced innovation in training and choreography. As many as 29 students have performed Arangetram under the able tutelage of the various gurus at the institute from time to time.

Further, the institute has represented itself in festivals in India and abroad such as Pattadakallu, Karavali Utsav, Karwar, Janapada Kalotsava, Bangalore, North Zone Cultural Centre, Nagpur, South Zone Cultural Centre, Sirsi, Sempanga Vinayaka Temple, Singapore to mark Mahamandala Abhishekam in 2003, Tulu Parba and World Kannada Sammelan in Kuwait, Kannada Vaibhava organised by Gulf Kannadigas, Bahrain, all in the year 2007. Punya Shloka Sadguru Shivaparvati Pratishtana, Nasik has bestowed on the institution the title of ideal institution, Adarsha Samsthe in the year 2007.

The institute which has to its credit performing show in 1943 to contribute to the war fund during the Second World War celebrated its silver jubilee at Mumbai in the year 1964, golden jubilee and diamond jubilee in the Town Hall, Mangalore in the year 1988 and 1999, respectively. The platinum jubilee year began on a traditional note with two-day music and dance extravaganza on October 16 and 17 of the year 2010 as part of annual Navaratri celebrations at the school situated in Kadri. Continuing the jubilation, the institute organized Sangeetha Nrityotsava at the Town Hall on Dec 29 of the year 2010.