Apr 15 2025 to Apr 15 2025 7 p.m.

EVENT HAS ENDED

Where

Bangalore International Centre

7 4th Main Rd, Stage 2, Domlur 560071

Event Description

Manthana is a Sanskrit term used to depict the act of churning. When prefixed with Mano, it becomes the stirring of and within the mind; an intense, and concentrated movement of thought that upon reaching a crescendo yields the object of desire. Through this inner debate, the protagonist delves into her deepest emotions, churning them with a manic passion that will ultimately lead to ONE answer that will quell all questions.
A spiritual seeker in a chaotic today is in turmoil. There is a want to exceed the mundane, the everyday. But the determined pull of  digression and diversion exist – both inside and outside. As a dancer, there is a need to be in the outer world, to interact with it, so as to get to a literal stage where it is possible to fully experience a sense of the sublime. However, this fullness of emotion only lasts a moment. And it is in recreating that moment that one is willing to put oneself through all the chaos, all over again.

A finite body, a finite time frame, and a desire to be one with the Infinite.
Where does it begin?
Where does it end?
And how intense is intense enough?

This performance uses traditional Carnatic music from South India, in tandem with the dramatic idiom of Kuchipudi. The music and lyric used is the work of saint-poet Thyagaraja. The lyrical pieces which are otherwise disparate when viewed individually, come together through the time-honoured tradition of vachana, or soliloquy that is distinctive to Kuchipudi.

Credits

Vocals – Ranjani Sivakumar Siddareddy
Mridangam – G Gurumurthy
Nattuvangam – D V Prasanna Kumar
Flute – Jayaram Kikkeri
Violin – Pradesh Achar
Konnakkol – Somashekhar Jois
Keyboard and effects – Akash Parva
Sound design – Aravind Studio & Omkaar Sound Studios
Concept, script and choreography – Srividya Angara Sinha

Supported by:

Performer

Srividya Angara Sinha
Kuchipudi Dancer, Choreographer & educator
Srividya Angara Sinha is a distinguished Kuchipudi dancer, choreographer, and educator with over three decades of training and performance experience. A gold medalist in Performing Arts (Kuchipudi) from the University of Hyderabad, she also holds a degree in Computer Science Engineering from VNRVJIET, Hyderabad. She’s worked for GE, Infosys and IBM – some of the most globally recognized IT powerhouses. Her love for the Kuchipudi dance form, however, saw her take to performance, choreography and education in arts as the way forward.

Currently training under renowned Kuchipudi guru for Chennai, Guru Jaikishore Mosalikanti, Srividya began her initial training under Vijaya Valli Priya. She has performed at prestigious festivals, including the Khajuraho Nritya Samaroh and Idagunji Dance Festival. In the U.S., she was the first Indian classical dancer to present her original work, MEL – Coming Together, fusing Kuchipudi with Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5. Her acclaimed choreographies include Samaagati (a Kuchipudi-Odissi jugalbandi) featuring a 30-minute production Meenakshi, and the thematic Kuchipudi solo Manomanthana.

A graded Doordarshan artiste and empanelled with SPICMACAY, she co-founded Citsabha Collective to promote classical arts. Honored with the Distinguished Alumni Award 2022 from her engineering alma mater VNRVJIET, she is also guest faculty at IIT Hyderabad and has been invited to New Delhi as a Pathbreaker – Youth Icon at the recently held Viksit Bharat Young Leaders Dialogue 2025.