Mysuru: Bhavanotsava, a two-day festival of music, dance and performing arts will be held on Jan. 19 and 20 (Saturday and Sunday) to commemorate the 131st birth anniversary of Kulapathi Dr. K.M. Munshi, Founder-President of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan (BVB) .

Vidushi Dr. Sukanya Prabhakar, Director of Surabhi Gana Kalamandira, will inaugurate the event. N. Ramanuja, Chairman, BVB, Bengaluru, will be the chief guest. Prof. A.V. Narasimhamurthy, Chairman, BVB, Mysuru, will preside.

The events include: Bharatanatyam by Vidu. P.K. Nagalakshmi and her team on the inaugural day (Jan. 19) and Hindustani Music by Sharadha Bhat Kattige and team comprising Vid. Sriram Bhat on harmonium and Vid. Ramesh Dhannur on tabla (Jan. 20). This apart there will be  other music and dance features by the students of BVB’s Kalabharathi Wing from 5.30 pm to 8.30 pm.

Profile of artistes

Vidushi P.K. Nagalakshmi is a well-known Bharatanatyam performer, choreographer and teacher in Mysuru. Her initial learning of Bharatanatyam started at the age of ten under the able guidance of Guru Vidu. Vasantha Lakshmi of Bengaluru and completed her Vidwat exam in first class. After moving to Mysuru, she started advanced training in Dance, Yoga and Choreography under Vidu. Dr. Vasundhara Doreswamy.

She completed her M.A. in Bharatanatyam under the guidance of Vidu. Chethana Radhakrishna and Vidu. Radhika Nandakumar. She had Yoga training from Guru Sudesh Chandra of Mysuru for over a decade.

An Engineer, she started her career in a software company at Bengaluru. Now she is an entrepreneur and runs a Preschool, Kindergarten, Daycare and Activity Centre, Champaka Academy where she also teaches Bharatanatyam.

She is a recipient of  scholarship awarded by Karnataka Sangeetha Nritya Academy and has participated in solo and group performances with her Gurus in many cultural festivals.

Vidushi Sharada Bhat Kattige has done her MA in Music and Vidwat in Hindustani Classical Vocal. Her father Pandit Subramanya Bhat Kattige, Honnavar, was her first Guru and motivator. She has been quenching her thirst for Music from various stalwarts in the field such as Pandit  Shadakshari Gawai (late), Pandit Chandrashekar Puranikmath (late) of Dharwad, Pandit Parameshwara Hegde of Bengaluru, Pandit Indudhar Nirodi of Mysuru and Pandit SCR Bhat (late) of Mumbai. This apart she is also trained for light classical Music under Pandit Vasanth Kanakapur (late) of Dharwad. She is regularly performing in various prestigious Sabhas and festivals across the country.