Social Events
WITS Reception – Virtual Networking: Wednesday, December 16, 7:00pm – 7:30pm EST.
Virtual Guided Tour of Hyderabad: Wednesday, December 16, 8:40pm – 9:30pm EST. Details below.
The following video was commissioned by WITS 2020. Copyright: WITS board.
A short brief about Indranil Chowdhuri:
Past:
Retiring after 35 years in the corporate world, I have now started pursuing my passion for travel in a more structured manner in a bid to value add to my expertise.
Present:
Two decades of roaming the planet and 115 countries later, I find that I have gained some knowledge on designing tours. Rarely have I used the services of any travel company, and I am NOT your friendly neighborhood travel service provider, soliciting business with pre-determined packages. My core competency is in sharing of knowledge, mutually working to fine tune dreams. Through every stage of progress you remain the director, the artist, the provider, the implementer, and I just the assist.
I run solo and group tours both in India and across the planet, curating each and every tour as per individual requisites and parameters. I specialize in
- Wine Tours Historical tours
- Off beat trips Mythological tours
- Archeological Tours of Temples Sporting events tours
- Any other tours on demand
Presently in the process of finalizing educational excursions for schools, and corporate event tours. Apart that, a fanatic souvenir collector, been featured in media for the same.
Resources:
- My knowledge base of countries cultures and sentiments.
- My on-the-ground connections with service providers
- My library of close to 1000 books on travel
- My interest in constantly re-engineering myself in this domain
Indranil Chowdhuri
Bohemian by choice, Vagabond by nature, Traveler by Passion
An Evening of Storytelling through Kuchipudi Dance: Thursday, December 17, 8:40pm – 10:00pm EST. Details below.
An Evening of Storytelling through Kuchipudi Dance
Ms. Yamini Reddy
Dance is a form of worship, an antidote to pain, an exercise in healing, a conveyance for story and storytelling. Every culture has a story to tell, and the way they tell it is unique. Storytelling has been used to preserve culture, instill values, educate, and entertain. And throughout history, dance has proven to be a powerful tool of storytelling, for the passing on of ritual and tradition or even forbidden secret knowledge passed down through generations.
Arising from man’s such need for storytelling is the art of Kuchipudi dance. Kuchipudi Dance tradition is a combination of Theater (Natya Mela) and Temple Dance (Nattuvamela) thus making it an unique form of dance which encompasses a rich tradition of storytelling. In its newest form Kuchipudi is a modern link to its ancient heritage. Since Kuchipudi stems from Yakshaganas or Dance Dramas, Storytelling comes naturally to it. It is a complete form of storytelling replete with characters, narrators, episodes and dialogues, which gives it the ability to instantly absorb the audiences into its presentation.
Set against the backdrop of the iconic Qutub Shahi tombs of Hyderabad ,three time national awardee and celebrated danseuse Yamini Reddy will dance you through the origin, structure and evolution of Kuchipudi dance as it exists today.
The following video was commissioned by WITS 2020. Copyright: WITS board
Bio of Ms. Yamini Reddy:
Born to the legendary Kuchipudi exponents, Padma Bhushans Raja and Radha Reddy, Yamini has got dance in inheritance from her parents. Dance comes naturally to Yamini as swimming to a fish.
She is a multi-faceted personality. Endowed with a sculpted figure, a perfect face and scintillating grace, a very captivating presence with the right aptitude for rhythm and expressions, Yamini Reddy has in abundance all that it takes to be a first-rate danseuse.
Yamini learnt Kuchipudi from her parents and gave her first solo performance at the tender age of three in New Delhi that got her standing ovation. She has inherited her father’s Tandava and mother’s lasya, a combination that is evident in her style.
Famous parents can prove to be a tough yardstick for their kids, especially those who aspire to make their own niche in the same field. Yet, Yamini refuses to be intimidated by the tough road in front of her.
The younger generation today believes in experimenting and that is essential too but continuity is also necessary. The future is to be built on the foundations laid on the past and the present. With the adage in mind, Yamini has decided to master the conventional style of performing Kuchipudi dance. She is the thread of continuity in the family tradition of the Reddys.
Yamini has toured the United Kingdom. France, the United States, Dubai Europe, Russia etc. In Dublin (Ireland) and Fort Lauderdale (USA), the Mayors presented her with the golden key to the cities. She has been awarded the ‘Yuva Ratna Award’ by the District Rotaract Organization and Young Achievers Award by FICCI. She is also the proud recipient of the Devadasi National award and the Sangeet Natak Akademi Bismillah Khan Yuva Purasakar. More recently she has been awarded the News 24 ‘ Jashn e Youngistan’ award and the Pride of Telangana ‘Achievers award’.
“Yamini is just made for dance, she is a complete performer” complimented Bharat Ratna Pandit Ravi Shankar after witnessing her performance.