Chidambaram dances to be telecast. After the fest.

What is perhaps the fountainhead of all Natyanjalis, the fest in Chidambaram launches this Thursday, Feb.28.

The five-day dance fest is held in a private ground with a grand, tastefully designed stage fitted with good lighting, seats for all and a small snacks kiosk - on South Car Street, Chidambaram.

Excerpts of the recitals are being recorded by TTD's Shri Venkateswara Bhakti Channel (SVBC) and will be telecast later in parts, says A. Sambandam, advocate and Trust secretary here.

Call from Mayiladuthurai

Here is a note from senior dancer G. R. Narendra based in Chennai who will perform the opening recital along with Deepa at the Natyanjali in Mayiladuthurai.

'With Shivaratri coming up this weekend, you will find all of us from the dance fraternity on the Tanjore belt paying respects to the art form!

This year at Mayura Natyanjali, Deepa and I will be performing during their inaugural ceremony on 1st March 2019, Friday at 5:55pm. 

Watch us live - http://www.mayuranatiyanjali.in/live/

Changed schedule in Thanjavur's Sri Brihadeeswarar Temple

The schedule at Thanjavur's Sri Brihadeeswarar Temple has changed this year.

And it seems to be a result of stern orders passed by the court on an event that a group of spiritual head Sri Sri Ravishankar planned to hold inside the World Heritage site temple some months ago, erecting pandals and lighting up the place.

So the regular host, Brahanatyanjali will curate the string of dance recitals, from 6pm to 6am March 4 evening onwards and South Zone Cultural Centre (SZCC), also based in Thanjavur with whom the private body partnered all these years will host only two recitals for the next six evenings.

Music fests too!

Over the past few years, musicians too have lent support to 24-hour long Mahasivaratri akandam-like fests.

Chennai is hosting at least three such marathon music tests, that start at 5 p.m. on Monday and end the next day as dawn breaks.

A Dikshitar group used to host a music fest in the Chidambaram in its south yard, often parallel to the dance fest in the eastern yard. And a number of well-known artistes performed here.

How does a dancer get to perform here?

This time of the year, we at KutcheriBuzz receive a string of mails from artistes asking us for tips to get the opportunity to perform at any Natyanjali.

The course is simple - apply to the host by December and followup on your request.

Most groups / dancers get accommodated especially if you are a first timer. Though many hosts give stage space to local artistes. That is a given.

Parallel fests at Chidambaram continue

The parallel Natyanjali fests run at Chidambaram continue. 

The Dikshitars-led hosts continue to hold fort inside the temple with some ambitious plans this Sivaratri, we are told while a private Trust that ran the Natyanjali here for over three decades and was pushed out, continues to hold its own fest in a  private yard.

That such a great venue now hosts a pedestrian dance event is a shame.

And the gossip mills say that artistes are gently asked to pay a registration fee to perform in the temple dance fest.

Hotels are fully booked!

We call a hotel in Chidambaram to book accommodation, then another and a third and all of them - some 7 hotels - are booked for the Natyanjali.

Something like 100-plus rooms across four days.

So we call hotels in Sirkazhi and in Vaitheeswaran Koil, all close to Chidambaram - they are also fully booked on the eve of Sivaratri.

All for visiting dancers.

Yes, the famed Vaitheeswaran Temple is hosting a one-day dance fest. And there are dancers from Singapore checking in.

Welcome to the 2019 Natyanjali season

Welcome to the 2019 edition of our coverage of the Natyanjali Dance Festivals of Tamil Nadu.

If we said that this circuit has led to a mushrooming of dance recitals in temples in this state it would be closer to facts.

Even before we at KutcheriBuzz began posting the schedules from places like Chidambaram, Kumbakonam and Nagapattinam, there were mails from Puducherry ( Pondicherry) and Neyveli, hosts telling us that they too organize dance recitals at Mahasivaratri time in their towns.

We are aware of these events. And  now we are told that many temples dedicate the festival evening to dance if artistes of the area or region are willing to perform.

And so if one goes by the buzz of the Natyanjali which took root in the great temple at Chidambaram some four decades ago, this development is indeed very rooted and widespread.