Nishagandhi Festival

Nishagandhi Festival in Kerela

Nishagandhi festival 2009 starts on 20th of January

Kerala Tourism’s dance and music festival ‘Nishagandhi – 2009′ lasting seven days at Kanakakkunnu Palace compound in Thiruvananthapuram on January 20. Rajendra Gangani, a noted exponent of the Jaipur School of Kathak, will perform ‘Ras Rang’ after inauguration. Many renowned artists from different regions of the country are expected to participate in the festival.

Geetha Chandran’s Bharatnatyam ‘Ekam Sat’ and Guru Singhajit Singh’s Manipuri will be staged on January 21. Ghazal singer Talat Aziz’s music performance will be at Nishagandhi from 6.45 p.m. on January 22. Vinitha Nedungadi will present Mohiniyattom on January 23. It will be followed by the staging of Chhau dance by Shashadhar Acharya.

Ace flautist Pandit Roma Majumdar and Veena artiste Jayanthi Kumaresh will perform a jugalbandi on January 24. Vocalist Ashwini Bhide Deshpande and Hindustani Classical Music maestro Sanjeev Abhyankar will present a musical evening after the jugalbandi. Kuchupdi, characterized by fast rhythms and fluid movements, will be presented by Sailaja on January 25. It will be followed by an Odissi recital by Nandini Ghosal.

The festival will feature a fusion music by Karaikudi Mani (Mridangam), V. Suresh (Ghatam), B.V. Balasai (flute), B.V. Raghavendra Rao (electric violin), U.P. Raju (mandolin) and V.B. Madhusudhanan (tabla) on January 26. As in the previous editions, Kathakali will be staged on all evenings from 6.30 p.m. to 9.30 p.m. at Kanakakkunnu.

As the part of the festival, the crafts mela and food festivals will also be held at the Sooryakanthi Grounds. Souvenirs and eco-friendly products made from bamboo, cane, clay and coconut shell will be exhibited at the crafts mela, while major hotels will participate in the food festival.

This trophy named as the late Prime Minister of INDIA Jawaharlal Nehru to the winners of the first boat race, which was an impromptu one, donated NEHRU TROPHY conducted in 1952 in honour of Panditji who visited Alappuzha.

This aquatic festival fosters a sense of unity and fraternity and sports man spirit event and attaching foreign tourists also. In the year 1952, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru visited the erstwhile Travancore-Cochin. On his way to Alleppey from Kottayam the people of Alleppey, escorted by the huge snake-boats, gave him a roaring reception. Having gone through the tremendous excitement of sailing in a snake-boat popularly known as Chundan, Jawaharlal Nehru donated a rolling trophy to be awarded to the winner.

The trophy is a replica of a snake-boat in silver, placed on wooden abacus on which the following words of Panditji are inscribed above his signature.