Deekshitulu’s Rasa Raas Nritya @ Telugu Varsity 

It would be a proud moment for any mother to watch her child shine like a Dhruva tara (bright star), and Kuchipudi Guru Lakshmi Shankar is no different when her son SVKVP Deekshitulu will take centre-stage amidst stalwarts of the dancing fraternity –  Nritya Choodamani Vyjayanthi Kashi, Central Sangeet Natak Akademi Awardee, Kuchipudi exponent, Bangalore; Dr. Rudravaram Sudhakar, Assistant Professor, Dance Dept., Sri Potti Sree Ramulu Telugu University; Dr. Rathna Sri Sudhakar, Telugu Dept. Head & Asst. Professor, Dance Dept., Sri Potti Sree Ramulu Telugu University; Natya Visarada J Lalitha Kalpana, disciple of Guru AB Bala Kondala Rao, Padma Bhushan Guru Vempati Chinna Satyam and Guru Sri Vempati Ravi Shankar, Pratisrut, ART-IITM, Chennai; B Sudheer Rao, Kuchipudi exponent, recipient of Ugadi Puruskaram, Telangana State Award and Keerthi Puraskaram, in presenting, Nrityaekshana, a Kuchipudi solo performance.

For the special presentation, at NTR Auditorium, Telugu University, Deekshitulu will be presenting three items choreographed by himself, two by the Legendary Guru, Padma Bhushan Dr. Vempati Chinna Satyam and one by his Guru and mother Lakshmi Shankar. The pieces choreographed by Deekshitulu, include the opening piece, Bramhasri Kollegal R Subramanyam’s ‘Parvathi Nandanam’ set in Pancharagamalika and set in Misra Chapu taal. This will be followed by Sri Oottukkadu Venkata Kavi’s ‘Jatadhara Shankara’ (Saptaratna Kruthi) in Todi Ragam and Adi Talam, and the finale Mangalam, a composition of Saint Thyagaraja Swamy in Dhanyasi Ragam and Adi Talam.

Deekshitulu will be presenting Saint Tyagaraja Swamy’s ‘Ksheerasagara Sayana’ set in Devgandhari Ragam and Adi Talam, and Saint Narayana Theertha’s Poorayamamakamam, a Tarangam, in Ragamalika, Adi Talam, both compositions choreographed by the Late Padma Bhushan Dr. Vempati Chinna Satyam. The one piece chosen of his mother’s choreography is for Tillana, Padma Vibhushan Dr. Mangalampalli Balamurali Krishna composition in Garudadhwani Ragam and Adi Talam.

The young Kuchipudi artist will be accompanied by DSV Sastry on Nattuvangam and Vocals, Rajagopalachary on Mridangam, R Dinkar on Violin, VBS Murali on Flute, K Sasidhar on Veena. 

Deekshitulu, who hails from an artist’s family and has passion for arts, began learning Kuchipudi at the age of three years under the tutelage of his mother Lakshmi Shankar. After a rigorous training under the able guidance of his mother for 15 years, Deekshitulu continued his training under Chavali Bala Tripura Sundari, daughter of the Legendary Guru Dr. Vempati Chinna Satyam, to further learn the nuances of the dance form. 

Mastering the intricacies of the Kuchipudi style, Deekshitulu also completed his certificate course with first division from Telugu University. In recognition of his excellent prowess, both as a performer and practitioner, he was awarded with the titles ‘Nruthya Kala Vikas’, ‘Natya Kishoram’, ‘Bala Kalanidhi’, ‘Nruthya Nataraja’ and ‘Natya Pratibha Puraskar’. He has given solo, group and duet performances at various prestigious festivals and places like Chidambaram, Kumbakonam, Bhopal, Mumbai, Delhi, Rourkela, Tirupati, Madurai, Chennai, Bangalore to name a few. 

Deekshitulu, who has completed his Bachelor’s of Fine Arts (Animation/VFX) and is currently doing Certification in Full Stack Development from IIT Roorkee, wants to continue honing his skill in Kuchipudi, while learning about the history and applications of Shastra in innovating further to become a master choreographer.