It was a visual spectacle at the third Chitra Devi Music and Dance Festival presented by Sanchita Dance Foundation in association with Rotary Club Calcutta Metro City at Rotary Sadan as Padma Shri Prathibha Prahlad took the stage and enthralled with her breathtaking performance. Pratibha Prahlad is a pre-eminent danseuse, choreographer, educator, arts administrator and cultural visionary who is known for more than 5000 performances in India and across 80 countries. Known for curating several arts festivals like Vijayotsav, The Hampi National Tourism Festival, and pioneering the Delhi International Arts Festival, Pratibha Prahlad presented several pieces chosen for a regular Bharatanatyam performance. “The first piece was on Devi, representing Kali, Durga and other forms of devis as my offering for the people of Calcutta. Then I performed pieces on Krishna, from mother to child Krishna, then Krishna as an adult, and finally Krishna as god, where he becomes omnipresent,” said Pratibha. “I used to come every second year in Calcutta to perform. However, I have been coming to the city the last few times as a speaker at different events and literature festivals. Post-COVID this is the first time I’ve stepped into Calcutta,” she added.

Sharing anecdotes from her interesting journey, where she started dancing at age four, she shared how the zeal and passion to accomplish what’s started made her what she is at this point. From inter-city travel, handling her education side by side, and paying enough heed to practice and training, along with garnering strict discipline in her lifestyle has made the dance as easy as a cool breeze. “It isn’t stressful for me. I love practising and training. I love the dance that I do, and it’s extremely easy on me now, I’m thankful to my gurus U.S Krishna Rao, Kalanidhi Narayanan (abhinaya), VS Muthuswamy Pillai and Vempati Chinna Satyam (Kuchipudi) for all that I’ve learnt,” the master of expressions shared with t2.

The evening unfolded with a performance in music by Sangeet Natak Akademi Awardee Ronu Majumdar on flute and a pure Mahari dance showcase by Rupashree Mohapatra who donned the authentic Mahari jewels and performed pieces like Leela nidhi and aced her abhinaya along with it.