Indians are well-known for having a rich culture and artistic heritage. There are numerous styles of art, architecture, painting, music, dance, and festivals. When it comes to dancing subjects particularly, we will stand out brightly among others for our aesthetically beautiful features.
Sri Rathakrishanan Music & Arts Centre along with Pertubuhan Kesenian & Kebudayaan SRFA in collaboration with Jabatan Kebudayaan & Kesenian Negara (JKKN) has successfully helmed the Suaranatya Award Ceremony; ‘Celebration of Achievement’. During the award ceremony, the dancers from Sri Rathakrishanan Music & Arts Centre received two prestigious records – a national and an International record.
All of the talented thirty-six women Indian classical dancers were awarded a place in the Malaysia Book of Records (MBOR) for the ‘Longest Non-stop Traditional Dance Relay’ and ‘Most Number of All Women Participants in a 24-Hour Barathanatyam Relay, which eventually earned them a coveted spot in the Asia Book of Records (ABOR) for ‘Longest Non-stop Traditional Dance Relay’.
Each and every participant danced on a relay basis, covering a variety of devotional songs and cumulatively logged a total running time of 35 hours to earn pride of place in the MBOR and ABOR respectively. They reportedly started dancing on May 1st, 2021 (Saturday-8am) and continued till the evening of May 2nd, 2021 (Sunday-7pm).
All thirty-six Indian classical dancers received certificates and medals for entering the Malaysia Book of Records (MBR) and Asia Book of Records (ABR).
The participants ranged from 9 to 40 years of age, consisting of school students, college graduates and working adults, who worked tirelessly and battled against all odds to set these records.
The award ceremony was organised by the centre and Pertubuhan Kesenian dan Kebudayaan with the collaboration of the National Culture and Arts Department (JKKN). Also present were ABR Malaysia president Selvarani Muthiah, vice-president Grace Kuppa, and MBR senior record consultant Siti Hajar Johor.
According to the report, Mesran Mohd Yusof, the JKKN deputy director-general mentioned that it was good to see that youths in the country still valued cultural arts.
“It proves that the centre has been successful in getting the young involved in the arts, especially Indian classical dances,” he made this remark at the award ceremony.
The brainchild behind ‘Suaranatya’, Nalini Rathakris also the centre’s founder and the principal said that they faced difficulties when the Covid-19 pandemic caused many of their events to be cancelled or postponed.
“However, we did our best to keep our passion for classical dancing alive and I am so proud of the dancers,” said the principal of the performing arts centre.
“What we are trying to do is not to recognise achievements but inspire young Malaysian women to accomplish great things. We want to promote the spirit of human excellence and make the nation proud,” Nalini expressed.
She said that her dance academy will bring about an impressive attempt and intends to enter Guinness World Records in near future.
Congratulations to the whole team for this great achievement and all the best for your future undertakings.
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