Sivaratri celebrations at Vadakkunathan temple

Thrissur: Various cultural programmes will be staged at the Sree Vadakkunathan Temple here from February 18 to 25 as part of the Sivaratri celebrations. Speaker Therambil Ramakrishnan will inaugurate the celebrations. M.A. Krishnanunni, president, Cochin Devaswom Board, will preside.

The inaugural meeting will be followed by a Bharathanatyam recital by Padma Subramaniam, based on the compositions of Swati Tirunal. N. Gopalakrishnan, director of the Indian Institute of Scientific Heritage, will deliver a lecture on “India’s message to the world,” on February 19. The lecture will be followed by a devotional music programme, led by playback singer Jyotsna, Natesh Sankar and Thrissur Janardhanan.

A troupe led by Vidya Kollur will present a Yakshagana recital on February 20. Deepika Reddy, a disciple of Vempatty Chinna Satyam, will present a Kuchipudi recital in February 21. M. Sree Usha and M. Girisha will present a mandolin duet on February 22. Cine artiste Kavya Madhavan will present a classical dance programme on February 23.

Pranavam Sankaran Namboodiri will present a Carnatic vocal recital on February 24. He will be accompanied by C.S. Anuroop (violin), K. Jayakrishnan (mridangam), Thrissur A. S. Sreejith (ghatom) and Moorkkannur Krishnadas (morsing).

The Kathakali play `Kiratam’ will be presented on February 25. Actors include Kalamandalam Kuttan (Kiratan), Sajan Namboodiri (Kattala Sthree), Ajith Warrier, Anup Warrier (Kutti Kattalanmar), Venkitarama Iyer (Arjunan) and Thripayya Anup (Sivan). The musicians are Narayanan Embranthiri, Jayaprakasan (both vocal), Kunjunni (chenda) and Harinarayanan (maddalam).

Ottanthulla by Muriyad Muraleedharan, dance programmes directed by Santha Jayan and a Carnatic vocal recital by Thrissur R. Vaidyanatha Bhagavathar will be held at the Sreemoola Sthanam of the temple, according to a press release.