Geeta@50: Bharatanatyam stalwart Geeta Chandran to perform a one-hour varnam on the golden anniversary of her arangetram

A young Geeta Chandran

Soloist, choreographer, teacher, scholar, a shaper of arts policy and a leading light in Bharatanatyam, Guru Geeta Chandran will be performing a one-hour varnam, old-school, at the golden jubilee of her arangetram in Delhi on 25 October, Friday. ‘A varnam is actually a one-hour piece, it’s not something that is finished off in 20 minutes, like it is today. It is like a vilambit khayal – it needs that kind of delineation. Each line needs to be slowly delineated. I’m planning to do a varnam in the old style,’ she says of her recital on the 25th, marking exactly 50 years to her arangetram on 25 October 1974.

Geeta Ramakrishnan was only 12 when, on that day 50 years ago, she took the stage under the watchful eye of her first guru, Smt. Swarna Saraswati. Exactly five decades later, she will be performing a varnam in the way she was taught, plus a few more compositions. 

And a day before that, on 24 October, her students will perform ‘Pravahati’ – solos showcasing the work and the philosophy she has imparted to them over the decades. The two-day programme will take place at Kamani Auditorium, Delhi, from 7 pm on both days.

Venue: Kamani Auditorium, Copernicus Marg, New Delhi

Time: 7 pm to 9 pm

Thursday 24 October
Pravahati by Natya Vriksha Dance Collective, presenting choreographies of Geeta Chandran

Friday 25 October
Solo by Geeta Chandran