On 25th January 2025, the Frangipani tree in Saptaparni was decorated with marigold garlands to celebrate Akshita Singh Thakur’s solo Kuchipudi recital.
Her passion to perform solo on stage belied her tender age- all of eleven years, small build but with incredible energy and enthusiasm! Her guru, Amrita Singh, trained Akshita with much love and nurtured her inborn talent with great care and brought her to this performing level—which is quite an achievement!
Akshita Singh Thakur Solo Kuchipudi Recital
Akshita breezed through the invocation—Adi Shankara’s “Ganesha Pancharatnam” in Ragamalika. As the verses of the great advaita philosopher unfolded, she owned the stage and struck a rapport with the audience. Guru Vempati Master Garu composed “Shivashtakam” in a lilting Mahana Ragam, which Akshita performed with ease.
“Krishna Sabdam”, one of the most popular and much enjoyed dances of Kuchipudi is said to have been composed in the honour of one of the princes of the Damerla family from Kalahasti Samstana (near Tirupati). The song alludes to the son of Damerla Timmendra. Mature dancers who have mastered the abhinaya aspect of dance often take up Krishna Sabdam and do justice to the various romantic elements portrayed in the song. Though the passionate features are much beyond her comprehension, little Akshita made a good attempt depicting an impish Krishna and his amorous activities in her Krishna Sabdam. As she continues to learn and delve deeper into the art, she will certainly gain mastery over abhinaya and impress the audience much more.
Taken from Guru Vempati’s iconic ballet, Ksheera Saagara Madhanam, the ‘Pravesa Daruvu’ of Goddess Lakshmi is a lovely composition in Mohana Ragam. Akshita showed much skill in portraying the emergence of the Goddess of Wealth from the celestial ocean of milk.
Concluding her recital, Akshita presented a Thillana in Raag Miyan Ki Malhar—a raag that heralds the monsoon and the resultant rain. Miyan ki Malhar is a mixture of Rag Brindavani Sarang, Rag Kafi and Rag Durga, and it evokes a mix of emotions. Beautifully choreographed by Akshita’s guru, Amrita Singh, the rhythm was perfect and well suited for the Rabindra Sangeeth composition that she chose. It was a fitting finale to Akshita’s pre-arangetram performance, which was aptly called “ Prarambham”- the beginning. It also synced well with the multicultural and multilingual adaptation that Kuchipudi is now venturing into.
Here’s wishing Akshita, a bright future filled with learning and propagating the graceful dance form called Kuchipudi.
