NEW YORK: Eminent Bharathanatyam
dancer and guru of South India Chitra Visweswaran is presenting a dance
production “Meera- the soul divine,†on the life of India’s greatest
saint-poetess Meera from the perspective of spiritual journey in New York on September
9.
Visweswaran, the Padma Shri and
Arsha Kala Bhushanam awardee, has choreographed and directed the dance
production to the music of Bombay Jaishri. It is presented by Chidambaram Dance
Company, the professional repertory of Chidambaram Academy of Performing Arts
for AIM for Seva.
The production portrays the
spiritual quest of Meera and her unshakable faith in Lord Krishna. The bonding
with her beloved Giridhari was perhaps one of the greatest divine love stories
of the land and was an epitome of bakthi.
The cast include Chitra Visweswaran,
Sukanya Ravinder Srinivasan, Vidha Ravindran Anand, Uma Nambudripad Sathya
Narayana and Nandhini Ganesan. Chitra is also incharge of Jathi composition and
nattuvangam. Chitra is secretary of Tamil Nadu Iyal Isai Nataka Mandram that
promotes various forms of dance, folklore and drama under the tutelage of Chief
Minister J Jayalalithaa in Tamil Nadu. Chitra Visweswaran is a renowned dancer,
teacher and choreographer in the field of Indian dance and known for her
versatile style of Bharathanatyam.
The All India Movement (AIM) for
SEVA, a non-profit organization in the US, helps needy students in rural India
access education. It was started in 2000 by Swami Dayananda Saraswati, and
14,000 needy students have benefitted. At no cost to parents, children are
provided boarding and lodging, clothing, medical care, education, after-school
coaching and extra- curricular activities.
There is a crisis in rural education
in India. About one third of the rural/tribal children in schools drop out due
to reasons such as dysfunctional home environment, lack of accessibility to
schools and other social factors such as poverty. AIM for SEVA helps tackle the
problems related to rural education through a residential concept called the
Free Student Home (FSH). It build hostels near existing public schools thereby
leveraging existing school infrastructure.
As a secular, independent charitable
trust we are committed to reaching out and caring for needy children,
irrespective of religion or caste. Our 100 FSHs across 16 states enable
children, from the least privileged sections of Indian society, to benefit from
the trans-formative power of education. The pass rate of these children in
public board exams is now higher than 90%, a phenomenal achievement attributed
to our efforts, said Krishna Murali Iyer, a trustee.
“Meera- the soul divine,â€
choreographed by Padmashri Chitra Visweswaran and music by Oscar nominee Bombay
Jayashri is scheduled to be held at 7:30pm Friday, September 9, 2016 at
the Queens borough Performing Arts Center in Bayside in New York.
