BhArata SamBhavam - a scintillating performance!

[Guest guest]

what a 'scintillating' performance of 'Bharat Sambhavam' at the

Kennedy center , washington dc , last evening!

 

THE choreographer , smt. Mrinalini Sadananda , is a famous kuchipudi

dancer , well known in the washingon dc area. Mrinalini is not an

ordinary dancer. She is a dancer who uses the dance medium to spread

the rich cultural and spiritual traditions of Bharat. (india) . The

most important thing is she donates all the proceeds of her dance

performance to further a noble cause- CHINMAYA MISSION and its

social projects. (advaitins please note - chinmaya mission is

spreading the message of Adwaita in the washinngton dc area and our

beloved members Sadanandanji, Shri RAMACHANDRAN and Benji are some of

the active members) !

 

SInce this is a group dedicated to spread the message of 'adwaita' ,

i will not dwell too much on the 'artistic' and 'aesthetic' merits of

the performance. The music was simply wonderful, the dancers were

flawless in executing the dance numbers , the costumes were beautiful

and the choreography was outstanding! in the last scene, when

Gandhiji came on the stage with his followers and sat on the dance

floor spinning the 'charkha' , tears started rolling down my cheeks

and i thought " yes, this is the Land of DHARMA' ! thanks,

mrinalini , for spreading the message of 'dharma, karma, artha,

moksha' - the four purusharthas of life through this wonderful

portrayal of 'Bharat Sambhavam'

 

It was an evening of pure joy and ecstasy!

 

It is always a pleasure to see a pure Vaishnav! (a devotee of sriman

narayana) in the presence of a pure Vaishnav, one always remembers

Vishnu!

 

after seeing Mrinalini's bharata Sambhavam , i am reminded of the

following verse from srimad bhagvatam...

 

"My dear King, the inhabitants of Satya-yuga and other ages eagerly

desire to take birth in this age of Kali, since in this age there

will be many devotees of the Supreme Lord, Narayana, . These devotees

will appear in various places but will be especially numerous in

South India. O master of men, in the age of Kali those persons who

drink the waters of the holy rivers of Dravidadesa , , such as the

Tamaraparni,Krtamala, Payasvini, the extremely pious Kaveri,; and the

Pratici Mahanadi , will almost all be purehearted devotees of the

Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vasudeva."

 

SRIMAD BHAGVATAM

 

OM NAMO NARAYANA!

 

(yes, dear-hearts, our beloved mrinalini hails from andhra pradesh ,

south india and she is a pure devotee of lord narayana)

[Guest guest]

Dear Adiji,

> THE choreographer , smt. Mrinalini Sadananda , is a famous

kuchipudi

> dancer , well known in the washingon dc area. Mrinalini is not

an

> ordinary dancer. She is a dancer who uses the dance medium to

spread

> the rich cultural and spiritual traditions of Bharat. (india) .

The

-----------------

> (yes, dear-hearts, our beloved mrinalini hails from andhra

pradesh ,

> south india and she is a pure devotee of lord narayana)

 

 

Actually, I believe this Mrinalini Sadananda is the very wife of

our highly respected member of the list, my dear friend Sri

Kuntimaddi Sadananda! I am very happy to read here about her

performance.

 

Warmest regards

Stig Lundgren

[Guest guest]

advaitin, "Stig Lundgren" <slu@b...> wrote:

> Dear Adiji,

>

> > THE choreographer , smt. Mrinalini Sadananda , is a famous

> kuchipudi

> > dancer , well known in the washingon dc area. Mrinalini is not

> an

> > ordinary dancer. She is a dancer who uses the dance medium to

> spread

> > the rich cultural and spiritual traditions of Bharat. (india) .

> The

> -----------------

> > (yes, dear-hearts, our beloved mrinalini hails from andhra

> pradesh ,

> > south india and she is a pure devotee of lord narayana)

>

>

> Actually, I believe this Mrinalini Sadananda is the very wife of

> our highly respected member of the list, my dear friend Sri

> Kuntimaddi Sadananda! I am very happy to read here about her

> performance.

>

> Warmest regards

> Stig Lundgren

 

Namaste, Adi-ji and Stig-ji

 

Yes, Sada-ji told me about it some time back. I have missed to

coordinate my brief trip to the East Coast last month so as to be

present at this scintillating performance. Long live the Sada-couple!

 

PraNAms to all advaitins

profvk

[Guest guest]

professorji!

 

You should have come and then we could have arranged a reception in

your honor at the shiva-vishnu temple and you could have delighted

the local devotees by talking about the paramacharya's 'saundarya

lahari' in your own inimitable fashion!

 

Professorji writes ..

 

Long Live the Sada-couple!

 

Yes! indeed! our blessings go to the entire family. THE whole family

is so gifted and talented. Mrinalini's daughter KEERTANA , besides

being a qualified doctor, is also following in her mother's

footsteps ! She excelled in her role as 'shakuntala ' - reminded me

of a 'deer' when she danced her way through the entire stage! but the

young boy who stole the show was "kamalakiran vinjamuri" ,( i believe

mrinalini's nephew ! ) the audience went into 'raptures' when this

young boy hugged the 'tiger' (make believe) on the stage- after all,

Bharat (india ) is known for its brave warriors. and the music

director , subhash vinjamuri - that was simply enchanting! dance is

half busic, half rhythm and in between these two halves is

the 'costume' - in all these areas, 'bharat sambhavam' was a winner!

not to mentoon divya vinjamuri as Lakshmi ! she looked the part ,

full of beauty and aishweryam !

 

to bring together a group of 61 dancers on stage all drwan from local

talent is no mean achievement! all the dancers should be given credit

for their hard work, discipline and team work! Yatha guru, tatha

sisya ( like teacher, like students)

 

WE WANT TO THANK CULTURAL AMBASSADORS like mrinalini who are

spreading the message of india's greatness via the medium of dance .

we also want to thank Swami dheerananaji of chinmaya mission for

spreading the message of adwaitha in this capital city!

 

love

 

 

 

>

> Namaste, Adi-ji and Stig-ji

>

> Yes, Sada-ji told me about it some time back. I have missed to

> coordinate my brief trip to the East Coast last month so as to be

> present at this scintillating performance. Long live the Sada-

couple!

>

> PraNAms to all advaitins

> profvk

[Guest guest]

Namaste,

 

Yes, I was there, and spectacular is the word. The big wide

eyes, outlined in black like fishes, sometimes darting to the side,

the dazzling smiles, the graceful fluid movements of feet, wrists and

hands, the vivid, iridescent, rainbow colors of the costumes, with

gold cuffs, collars and sashes, the elaborate hairstyles, the jewels

like stars, the flower wreaths, the fingers dipped in red ... all

this was a samsaric extravagance!

 

I helped to paint the backdrops. It was interesting to see

how what looked like mere splotches of paint up close became a

convincing Mt. Kailash or ocean from the distance. We have the

talented and industrious Shareen to thank for that. (By the way, her

husband was wearing a neat and trim yet comfortable looking black

Indian formal costume of some kind which I would much prefer to an

uncomfortable coat and tie, if I ever get the courage.)

 

Almost all the dancers were young women and children, so the

charm level hit the roof. The play was based on the story of

Shakuntala, so naturally there were plenty of Gods, Goddesses and

Apsaras (celestial nymphs). The littlest girls were dressed up as

birds, which was especially cute. When the occasional kid came out a

bit too early on the stage, this just delighted the audience. As

Adiji says, this dance group called Kalamandapam is the work of

Mrinalini Sadananda, and the efforts to produce this seem Herculean

to me.

 

Here is their website

 

http://www.bharatsambhavam.com/about.html

 

 

Basically, the story is of sage Vishvamitra, whose penance was so

great it threatened the Gods, so they sent Meenaka the most beautiful

Apsara to seduce him. A beautiful daughter, Shakuntala resulted, who

grew up in an ashram in the forest and in turn charmed King Dushyanta

when he was hunting. The king took her for wife, but then forgot

about her due to a spell. Only when Shakuntala's ring was recovered

from the belly of a fish did the king remember her and take her for

Queen, from which resulted Bharat, who played with tigers in the

forest as a child and then became the greatest king of India and

ancestor of a long line of great kings, upon which the Mahabharata is

based.

 

All in all, a great way to get a taste of classic Indian

culture. And being Indian, there was naturally a spiritual message,

namely, that even the greatest sage could be seduced by a

sufficiently beautiful woman. At least, that was the message I took

from it.

 

My only regret was that I was hoping to meet Adiji and did

not. I looked hard for her. Were you hiding under a chair when I

came by? :-)

 

Hari Om!

Benjamin

[Guest guest]

Namaste Adiji:

 

First, let me thank you for providing a fitting tribute

the 'scintillating display of the Glory of Bharath's cultural and

spiritual heritage.' Sri Sadaji, Srimathi Mrinalini are our family

friends and a truly dedicated couple for the universal happiness. I

feel it as a great privilege to know and have acquanitance with this

noble couple. For their good deeds this noble couple are blessed with

a pretty and intelligent daughter Kirthana (who acted as Sakuntala in

BhArataSamBhavam) and a son-in-law Aniket (the master of cceremony).

 

Sadaji (as always) was working hard behind the screen and it is not

surprising that you couldn't recognize he is the husband of the well-

known Kuchipidi dancer and coreographer of Washington Metropolitan!

The program at Kennedy Center was over at about 10:30 PM and Sadaji

and family could reach home only around 4 AM. However, at 9:50 AM,

Sadaji arrived to conduct the Gita Satsangh and provided a

scintilalating discourse on Chapter 6, verses 31 to 39.

Interestingly, the conversation between Arjuna and Lord Krishna were

centered on the important question on the importance of doing 'good

deeds in life." It is no wonder, Sadaji with real experience was

able to provide the most relevant explanation!

 

Warmest regards,

 

Ram Chandran

 

advaitin, "adi_shakthi16" <adi_shakthi16>

wrote:

> what a 'scintillating' performance of 'Bharat Sambhavam' at the

> Kennedy center , washington dc , last evening!

>

> THE choreographer , smt. Mrinalini Sadananda , is a famous kuchipudi

> dancer , well known in the washingon dc area. Mrinalini is not an

> ordinary dancer. She is a dancer who uses the dance medium to spread

> the rich cultural and spiritual traditions of Bharat. (india) . The

> most important thing is she donates all the proceeds of her dance

> performance to further a noble cause- CHINMAYA MISSION and its

> social projects. (advaitins please note - chinmaya mission is

> spreading the message of Adwaita in the washinngton dc area and our

> beloved members Sadanandanji, Shri RAMACHANDRAN and Benji are some

of

> the active members) !

>

> SInce this is a group dedicated to spread the message of 'adwaita' ,

> i will not dwell too much on the 'artistic' and 'aesthetic' merits

of

> the performance. The music was simply wonderful, the dancers were

> flawless in executing the dance numbers , the costumes were

beautiful

> and the choreography was outstanding! in the last scene, when

> Gandhiji came on the stage with his followers and sat on the dance

> floor spinning the 'charkha' , tears started rolling down my cheeks

> and i thought " yes, this is the Land of DHARMA' ! thanks,

> mrinalini , for spreading the message of 'dharma, karma, artha,

> moksha' - the four purusharthas of life through this wonderful

> portrayal of 'Bharat Sambhavam'

>

> It was an evening of pure joy and ecstasy!

>

> It is always a pleasure to see a pure Vaishnav! (a devotee of sriman

> narayana) in the presence of a pure Vaishnav, one always remembers

> Vishnu!

>

> after seeing Mrinalini's bharata Sambhavam , i am reminded of the

> following verse from srimad bhagvatam...

>

> "My dear King, the inhabitants of Satya-yuga and other ages eagerly

> desire to take birth in this age of Kali, since in this age there

> will be many devotees of the Supreme Lord, Narayana, . These

devotees

> will appear in various places but will be especially numerous in

> South India. O master of men, in the age of Kali those persons who

> drink the waters of the holy rivers of Dravidadesa , , such as the

> Tamaraparni,Krtamala, Payasvini, the extremely pious Kaveri,; and

the

> Pratici Mahanadi , will almost all be purehearted devotees of the

> Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vasudeva."

>

> SRIMAD BHAGVATAM

>

> OM NAMO NARAYANA!

>

> (yes, dear-hearts, our beloved mrinalini hails from andhra pradesh ,

> south india and she is a pure devotee of lord narayana)

[Guest guest]

shri ramachandranji,

 

THANK YOU! my pleasure!

 

i know sadananji and i am also familiar with the fact that he gives

weekly discourses at the chinmaya mission! only thing is , i know

spiritual people like him may not react well to 'praise' and

adulation , so i refrained from praising him to the skies! behind

every succesful man, there is a woman and we washingtonians know that

behind beautiful Mrinalini,the danseuse, there is a man ! without

his support and encouragement, how can an indian woman bloosom so

much in a field such as 'dancing' which involves lot of commitment

and dedication ! to adjust family life with the demanding life of a

performing artist - Mrinalini seems to do with remarkable ease! also,

she just retired as a chemistry teacxher from a local school!! you

see, we hindu women are capable of doing multiple things!! (

smiles!!!! we are shakti personified) !!

 

**********************************************************************

hey benji, i did miss you! i came 15 minutes late for the performance

and then rushed to the balcony to take my seat ! during intermission,

i did come to the lobby to have some coffee and look for you!!! but

the description you gave was not good enough! there were many

caucasians who wore specks ; none of them looked like u? but you

could have recognized me in an instant!!! lol!!!

 

oh! benji , you could be an dance and art critic! you have a way with

words ! so poetic!!! i wrote my piece in a hurry between doing

household chores! also, i was not sure how moderators would react to

my post! so i squeezed a lit bit of 'srimasd bhagvatam' into it to

make irt looke more advaithic and less of a dance critique!!!

 

so you prepared the backdrop! which one wasit!! yes, we all admired

the authentic looking hermitages, the palace, the vaikunta and

celestial abode of the gods ! but what attracted me most was the

dancer who came on stage as Gandhiji - he looked every inch the part

right unto the skinny legs! but he forgot to put on the

gandhiji'stoop'...

 

you know i am a bharatanatyam dancer myself - dance is my first

passion and spirituality is my compulsive-obsession! smiles!!

 

take care !

 

love

[Guest guest]

I want to thank you all for all the kind comments about the bArata

Sambavam performance at the Kennedy Center about my wife and her

husband. I realize that significant efforts made in writing the comments

about the show into advaitins list to make believe that it belong there.

That shows only the enthusiasm, and sincere appreciation of the writers

involved. Thank again.

 

 

Hari OM!

Sadananda

 

=====

What you have is His gift to you and what you do with what you have is your gift

to Him - Swami Chinmayananda.

[Guest guest]

respected sadanandaji ,

 

mrinalini had spent countless hours, days, months etc training those

62 dancers to perform this great dance drama and i am sure you are

the moving' spirit behind your wife's remarkable feat ! The least we

could do was to show our appreciation as any lover of art would do! i

wish i could have dome more justice in describing 'bhatata sambhavam

(as benji did ) but i am not so eloquent !

 

All classical dance forms salute the Divine ; this is so true of

dance mediums like Bharatanatyam and kuchipudi! When i saw the

Ksheera sagara scene where Lakshmi devi was seated at the feet of SRI

Ranganayakar in 'bharata sambhavam' , i felt like i was in 'sri

ranganathar' kovil itself! it was simply awesome!

 

MOOKAM KAROTI VACHALAM PANGOOM LANGHAYATE GIRIM ||

YATKRIPA TAMAHAM VANDE PARMANAND MADHAVAM ||

 

 

Salutations to the ultimate bliss Madhava, by whose grace, a dumb man

becomes the most eloquent and a physically disabled man crosses the

highest mountains

 

onm namo narayana !

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

advaitin, kuntimaddi sadananda

<kuntimaddisada> wrote:

>

> I want to thank you all for all the kind comments about the bArata

> Sambavam performance at the Kennedy Center about my wife and her

> husband. I realize that significant efforts made in writing the

comments

> about the show into advaitins list to make believe that it belong

there.

> That shows only the enthusiasm, and sincere appreciation of the

writers

> involved. Thank again.

>

>

> Hari OM!

> Sadananda

>

> =====

> What you have is His gift to you and what you do with what you have

is your gift to Him - Swami Chinmayananda.