Mysore style Bharatanatyam dancer Parashwanath Upadhye, who will be in Mana Hyderabad, as a guest to witness the Arangetram of Kum. Akshara Gande, in Ravindra Bharathi, on Sunday, September 26, 2021, speaking to Natyahasini says that Hyderabad is culturally a diverse city. “The love for the traditional art forms is immense here. I have always enjoyed presenting my productions and solo work here,” he says. The Upadhye School of Dance founder states that till date six students along with five others have performed solo Ranga Abhivandane in the City of Pearls.
Natya Mayura awardee Parshwanath, who has trained under Guru Ravindra Sharma in the traditional Mysore style of Bharatanatyam, has also learnt under The Kirans in Bangalore and is currently under the guidance of Padma Shri Prof. Sudha Rani Raghupati. Parshwanath says that the Mysore style of Bharatanatyam dance has been derived from the princely state of Mysuru. “Also, many Guru Paramparas have enriched this style. Vidhwan Shri M. Vishnudas and my Guru Shri T Ravindra Sharma have been great influence in spreading the Mysore style across Karnataka and the globe,” he says.
Sharing the significance of Mysore Bharatanatyam style from Kalakshetra, Vazhuvur and Pandanallur, the Natya Mayura awardee says that apart from the technical differences, the Mysuru style is mainly known for the compositions it deals with – Choornike, Daru Varnam, Mysuru Jatti, Kannada and Telugu Janalis are important compositions, dancers use to perform this style. Winner of several national awards, including the Sangeet Natak Academy’s Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar 2017, Adithya Vikram Birla ‘Kala Kiran Puraskar’ 2018, Ram Gopal Best male dancer award and best dancer at Music Academy Chennai 2018, an empanelled artist of the ICCR (Indian Council for Cultural Relations) and Top graded artist of the Bangalore Doordarshan Kendra, Parshwanath choreographs, directs, produces and presents his work at national and international venues under the Punyah Dance Company Bangalore. He also conducts dance workshops and regular as well as advanced training classes in Bharatnatyam under the banner of his dance school Upadhye School of Dance, Bangalore.
Clarifying whether all his ballets and choreographies are in Mysore style Bharatanatyam, Parashwanath says that his major learning has been in this style and he has developed his own style now. “Hence most of my productions are a combination of Mysore and other styles,” he confesses. Giving a peek into his notable contributions, the Bangalore-based Bharatanatyam dancer says that he has released a DVD ‘Shambho’ based on Indian classical dance that helps dancers across the globe to use the music and choreography. “Under Punyah Dance Company, some of my productions – Punyah Krishna, Paartha, Hara, Sat-Gati and Abha staged in the last decade have been well-received by the Rasikas,” he says.
Just like, the Late Odissi dancer, Protima Bedi, who set up a dance village – Nrityagram, on the outskirts of Bengaluru, where till date, the seven styles of classical dances are taught. Even Parshwanath Upadhye, along with Shruti Gopal and Adithya PV, is working on building a Gurukulam, a residential dance school, Punyah Abhyasa Shaala, at Chikale village, near his home town Belgaum. The dancer shares that Punyah Abhyasa Shaala, a one of its kind learning spaces, will create awareness about the art form-based education around Northern part of Karnataka, SW Maharashtra and Goa. Before taking leave, he says that very soon, he would be releasing another DVD, titled ‘Maye’.