Dr.Padmavani Mosalikati/Sooraj Nambiar @NCPA

An NCPA Presentation

‘Ode to Amba’ – Kuchipudi – Dr. Padmavani Mosalikanti’s Shivamohanam & Troupe

Yayati – Desire and Life Kutiyattam – Sooraj Nambiar & Troupe

Padmavani Mosalikanti is a highly sought-after performer, nattuvanar, choreographer and Guru. Along with her husband, Jaikishore Mosalikanti, she has toured extensively in India and abroad giving duet performances which were critically acclaimed, gracing esteemed festivals and conducting workshops in major cities. For the Mosalikantis (as the duo is popularly known), dance transcends mere physicality, intertwining with aspects such as values, ethics, and discipline. Their teaching philosophy focuses on shaping dancers proficient in Kuchipudi through a multidisciplinary approach that incorporates music, literature, yoga, and more. Their relentless dedication to education and performance has motivated many young dancers to engage with and sustain this classical dance tradition. They have set up Shivamohanam, an institution in Chennai. Shivamohanam has a tailor-made method of teaching helps students to bloom as not just good dancers and performers, but as good humans who contribute to the arts and its growth.

Shivamohanam presents ‘Ode to Amba’ – a Kuchipudi repertoire in praise of the goddess

The dancers will be performing an invocatory piece in praise of  the goddess of wisdom – Saraswati, a Varnam in praise of the goddess Shakti, an Annamayya krithi praising goddess Lakshmi in the form of Padmavathi devi  and conclude with a Thillana.

Sooraj Nambiar is a renowned Kutiyattam Director, Actor, and Actor Trainer known for his powerful stage presence and nuanced techniques. He is a senior disciple of the legendary Kutiyattam maestro Guru Ammannur Madhava Chakyar. He is also trained under Guru Ammannur Kuttan Chakyar, and years of training with the internationally acclaimed acting master Guru G. Venu have deeply shaped his acting style and stagecraft. Over the years,

Nambiar has performed pivotal roles in numerous Kutiyattam productions, presenting his art at renowned national and international festivals. He has also contributed to training the next generation of theatre practitioners as a visiting faculty at several institutions, including the National School of Drama New Delhi, Bangalore and Varanasi. School of Drama & Fine Arts (Thrissur), Bhartendu Natya Akademi (Lucknow), FFTV DLC SUPVA (Rohtak, Haryana). Venu. Nambiar devises his own training workshops — Lochanam, Bhavangikam, and Voice workshop — reflecting his unique pedagogy forged from extensive experience. A recipient of the Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar (2009) and the Kerala Kalamandalam Award (2023), he is also the co-founder and Artistic Director of Tripudi – An Acting Laboratory.

This production draws inspiration not only from the Mahabharata, Padma Purana, and Vishnu Purana, but also from modern literature — notably V. S. Khandekar’s celebrated novel and Girish Karnad’s play. The well-known story of Yayati tells of how he marries Devayani, daughter of the preceptor of the Asuras, Shukracharya, in public, and her friend, the Asura princess Sharmishtha, in secret. Bound by the entanglements of worldly pleasures, he even goes so far as to borrow the youth of his own son in order to prolong his life of indulgence, until a deep realisation dawns upon him. This presentation has been designed by interweaving the possibilities of pakarnnattam— the hallmark technique of the Kutiyattam form.

Yayati – Desire and Life was commissioned by Kalavahini

Box Office now open.