MOSCOW, RUSSIA, October 5, 2005: The Indian artists received wide appreciation for their performance at the nine-day Indian festival held in Russia. Renowned flute player Pandit Hari Prasad Chaurasia and famous violin maestro Dr. L. Subramanian enthralled the audience at International Performing Arts Centre, at the closing ceremony of the festival yesterday. In the jam-packed hall the Russian lovers of Indian music gave resounding applauds to the maestros, intermittently punctuated by ”bravo! bravo!”. The festival, which was inaugurated by the Information and Broadcasting Minister S. Jaipal Reddy, at the new stage of Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow on September 26, was held in St. Petersburg, Kaluga and Tver, with the performance of over 100 classical, folk and puppet artistes. The presentation of Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake in Mohiniattam style by Bharti Shivaji and group on the opening day, was an instant hit, just loved by the Russians. Performance by Pt. Shivkumar Sharma on Santoor was fantastic.
Commenting on the Bharti’s presentation of Swan Lake ballet in Mohiniattam, Novoe Izvestia newspaper wrote, ”They admired the fashionable fusion of Mohiniattam with the Russian tradition, wondering that swans could be dressed in ‘sari’ with untwisting feet and hands in the form of elegant fans.” ”Bharti Shivaji ingenuously retell the plot of Swan Lake ballet decorated it with the traditional Mohiniattam ornament of the swan arms,” wrote Kommersant, the leading business daily. About 70 folk artistes performed a fusion of 15 music and dance forms from different parts of India, on the Maly Theatre, Moscow. A puppet show was also presented. The two countries are scheduled to hold ”Year of Russia in India” in 2008 and ”Year of India in Russia” in 2009.