Padma Purush, Margazhi Musings and a Host of Workshops - This Weekend's Shantanand Arts Festival Happenings

The Shantanand Festival of Arts kicks off in a few days. Organised by the Temple of Fine Arts Kuala Lumpur, this year’s festival is themed Interweaving. This weekend, the feature events held will be Padma Purush, Margazhi Musings as well as Four Malaysia and a screening of Malaysian Tamil film Jagat.

The dance drama depicting star crossed lovers

Padma Purush is a dance drama that weaves two Indian dance styles – Bharatanatyam and Odissi. The performance is choreographed by established Malaysian dancer Shankar Kandasamy and Pandit Ratikant Mohapatra of India.

It is a love story between and Oriyan Prince and a Kanchipuram Princess, that is wrecked by a misunderstanding of a certain ritual. Interestingly, this ritual is still practiced today in Orissa.

Padma Purush will be held on the 30th of November and on the 1st of December 2019 at the Temple of Fine Arts, at 8.30 pm.

Margazhi Musings with Kumar Karthigesu, Ananthaa and friends

A two and a half hour musical will be held on Saturday the 30th of November. The first part of it will be Margazhi Musings by Samo’ Sounds, an interactive musical session featuring the use of Indian classical ragas in Tamil film music.

The artists will sing and play popular classical songs from the chosen raga and this will be complemented by a medley of Tamil movie songs in the same raga. This show intends to introduce the essence and emotions of Indian classical ragas to the audience. It’s going to be educational and entertaining. The interactive sessions will be ongoing throughout the show.

The Samo’ Sounds consist of Malaysian sitar legend, Kumar Kartigesu, local celebrity and singer Aanantha Rajaram, award-winning Carnatic and Hindustani singer, Priyanka Raman and a semi classical All India Radio artiste, Krithika Chandrashekar. The team will be collaborating with Selvendrrah Krishnan and Sam Prith V.

A Truly Malaysian instrumental showcase

After Margazhi Musings, the audience can stay on for Four Malaysia, an ensemble featuring the Malay gambus, the Chinese guzheng, the Sarawakian sape and the Indian violin, all by highly talented and popular Malaysian artistes. This set was curated by Kumar Karthigesu. This set is a reflection of the Malaysian lifestyle, where everything we do, eat and wear is interweaved, including our music.

The Music Showcase (Margazhi Musings and Four Malaysia) will be held on the 30th of November 2019, from 10 am to 12.30 noon.

Jagat Na Nalla Paiyan..

On Sunday morning, there will be a screening of the award winning Malaysian Tamil film, Jagat. After the film, there will be a panel discussion with director Shanjey Kumar Perumal. He will also speak about his latest project, the Padai Art Movement.

The screening of Jagat will be held on the 1st of December 2019 at 10 am. This will be followed by a panel discussion with Shanjey.

Have you seen the list of workshops?

In addition to the feature events, there will be many workshops held, that are open to the public. Here are a few highlights.

Kumar Karthigesu’s Comparison of Indian Classical Genres

This is a lecture demonstration by the ace sitarist himself, Kumar Karthigesu and team. The panel will discuss the differences between musical styles when it comes to Indian classical music. This includes vocal interpretation and rhythm and melody. Interestingly, this will be an interactive session with the audience present.

Varma Acupuncture Treatment

Those interested in getting a consultation with a Varma acupuncture physician may make an appointment by contacting the Festival organisers. Each person is given a thirty minute slot for consultation and treatment with physician Mahaguru Dr Kanniappan.

Deepa Rajendra’s Batik Art

Deepa is conducting three different art workshops. There are workshops for children and for adults. The Batik Art workshop is the one we are looking forward to. I mean, how often do you get to learn how to make the batik print?

Urmylla Radha Krishna’s Cupcake It Out

Urmy, will be sharing her tips and tricks when it comes to baking and decorating cupcakes. Each participant of this workshop goes home with some pretty amazing goodies, and this includes a few of Urmy’s cupcakes.

The Vochale Project’s Sing That A Capella

This is the workshop we have been waiting for! Acclaimed Malaysian a capella ensemble, The Vochale Project will be teaching the participants about the basics of a capella, how to harmonise and control your breathing while singing. Did we mention that we are Sing Off fans?

Here is the complete list of features and workshops held this weekend.

All events are ticketed. Some are on a pay-as-you-wish basis, while others have a fixed rate. For all inquiries, please contact the Shantanand hotline at 03-2274 3709 or WhatsApp 016-895 2874.

Alternatively, please visit the Shantanand Festival of Arts official website here. Follow the Shantanand Festival of Arts on Facebook here or on Instagram here.