Guide to Kalaa Utsavam – Indian Festival of Arts 2021
EVENTS

Music, Dance, Short Films: What to Expect at the Kalaa Utsavam – Indian Festival of Arts 2021

Kalaa Utsavam – Indian Festival of Arts returns to the Esplanade – Theater's on the Bay for its 20th edition to champion the Indian arts in Singapore. The festival, which begins today, Nov. 19, will run until Nov. 28, 2021, with a ton of activities both paid and free available to the public, such as film screenings, dance shows, plays, and musical performances.

Don’t miss these events at Kalaa Utsavam – Indian Festival of Arts!

Music

‘Nimirndha Nannadai’ – Bharathi's Poems of Strength

Nimirndha Nannadai  Esplanade Theatres on the Bay Singapore
Photo by Website/ Esplanade Theatres on the Bay Singapore

Singapore Indian Fine Arts Society (SIFAS) alumni's "Nimirndha Nannadai" is a musical tribute to the great Tamil poet Mahakavi Subramania Bharathi and his revolutionary ideals and works that easily made him one of the most relevant poets of the 21st century.

In this concert, selected poems of Bharathi were composed into music by Dr. Rajkumar Bharati, who just happens to be the great-grandson of the great poet himself.

Date: Nov. 19 and 20; 7:30 PM (Friday), 3 PM and 7:30 PM (Saturday)

Ticket Price: S$30

Location: Esplanade Recital Studio

‘Athma Ghanam – Music for the Soul’

Athma Ghanam  Esplanade Theatres on the Bay Singapore
Photo by Website/ Esplanade Theatres on the Bay Singapore

Music saves, heals, and soothes, and these are what "Athma Ghanam – Music for the Soul" stands for. Brought to life by the Singapore Indian Orchestra and Choir (SIOC), "Athma Ghanam" is the musical group's contribution to the people of Singapore during these uncertain and challenging times. Enjoy an evening of music, from Indian classical ragas to contemporary world music.

Date: Nov. 28, 3 PM and 7 PM

Ticket Price: S$30 to S$38

Location: Esplanade Concert Hall






Dance

‘These Brief Encounters’

These Brief Encounters  Esplanade Theatres on the Bay Singapore
Photo by Chowk Productions via Esplanade Theatres on the Bay Singapore

"These Brief Encounters" by Chowk Productions at once asks the question "How do we respond to our new lives forever changed by the COVID-19 pandemic?" and answers it. The contemporary dance performance was created as a response to Albert Camus' "The Plague" and explores how the short novel captures the COVID-19 zeitgeist. The performance is choreographed by Raka Maitra, with musicians from Siong Leng Musical Association. Sandhya Suresh, Caroline Chin, Anushka Ghosh, Elizabeth Sergeant Tan, Tan Weiying, and Vanessa Toh figure as the production's dancers.

Date: Nov. 19 and 20, 4 PM and 8 PM

Ticket Price: S$30

Location: Esplanade Annexe Studio

Classical Dance Stage – Manoranjanis

Manoranjanis  Esplanade Theatres on the Bay Singapore
Photo by Guru Geethanadhan PK via Esplanade Theatres on the Bay Singapore

Witness visual poetry in the form of dance, brought to life by the group Manoranjanis based on the stories of Little Krishna. Manoranjanis is made up of Nidya Shanthini Manokara, Thulasi Rao, Shivani Rajaraman, and Christy Milani, students of SIFAS who have performed extensively not just locally but abroad. The music for the performance, "Muralidhara Kauthuvam," is composed by Madurai R. Muralidharan, in raga Arabi set to Adi talam.

Date: Nov. 21, 7:45 PM and 9:15 PM

Free admission

Location: Esplanade Outdoor Theatre






Short Films by Local Filmmakers

Silk Short Film  Esplanade Theatres on the Bay Singapore
Photo by Website/ Esplanade Theatres on the Bay Singapore

Don't miss out on the films available during the Kalaa Utsavam festival. We recommend the short films by local filmmakers, which you can view online from Nov. 19-28.

The 1 hour and 30-minute-long video consists of six films: Don Aravind's "Silk," Vikneshwaran Silva's "Dark Light," Nishok's "Smell of Coffee," the Singapore Indian Theatre & Film Explorers's (S.I.T.F.E) "Nodigal Sivanthaal -- Vaergalaada (Dance of the Roots) and "Yen Pidiyil Nee (Holding You).

A ticket only costs S$5, with a limit of three views per ticket, and is free for Esplanade&Me members.


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