Jayashree Varadarajan anchored an evening of poetry, song and dance at East Ham Mahalakshmi Temple

Barnet resident Jayashree Varadarajan anchored a successful and well attended evening at the East Ham Mahalakshmi Temple on 29th October dedicated to exploring and acknowledging the works of 15/16th Century poets Kabir,Tulsi and Surdas who are highly-respected Indian saints/poets/composers
Jayashree Varadarajan anchored the event with narratives from the lives of the poets and exhorted the audience to familiarise themselves with their compositions and their philosophies. Mrs. Pushkala Gopal, MBE, an eminent artist, addressed the audience and explained the mysticism of the poets and the profound influence that they had on the Bhakti movement. She added events such as that evening would keep the legacy alive as the compositions are refreshed in the memory of the followers.
Dances were performed by Ranjani Dharmarajan (Gaiye Ganpati Jagvandan) and two well-known artistes Sankari Mridha (Sri Ramachandra Kripalu) and Lavanya Rao (Gopi Gopala Lala). Eminent singer Shruti Sriram and her students mesmerised the audience with three compositions: Akhiyan Hari Darshan ki pyasi, Paani Mein Meen Pyaasi and Bhajman Ram Charan Sukhdai.
Another set of students, trained by the talented singer Padmini Pasumarthy sang Jheeni Jheeni Beeni Chadariya, impressing the attendees. The audience were captivated by the seven-year- old Dhriti Srinath who sang Darshan do Ghanshyam. The performances concluded with Hanuman Chalisa (Tulsidas) in which the entire audience took part. The performers enjoyed the Mridangam support of the popular Vijyeyarajah Mylvaganam.
The event ended with an Aarti by the temple priests.
The event was the 13th in the series hosted by KBC Arts, each event being dedicated to a particular poet or a set of poets. These events are open to all performers and free for the audience and particularly encourage younger generations to explore and understand these Indian cultural gems. The performers express the work of the poets in forms like Carnatic music, Bharathnatyam, Kuchipudi dance or musical instruments.
The event was conceptualised, coordinated and organised by Geetha and Prabhakar Kaza, founding patrons of KBC Arts.
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