A timely recognition

The first artiste to perform Bharatanatyam 10 times in both Houses of British Parliament, Ragasudha Vinjamuri has her name proudly etched in history, quite literally. Her name has been included in the Limca Book of Records 2018 for this amazing feat under the performing arts chapter. The Hyderabad-born Bharatanatyam exponent is currently a resident of London, UK, and has performed on a variety of themes and occasions, from the International Yoga Day to the recent ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’ campaign. Ragasudha has also been a recipient of the coveted Asian Media Honorary Award for her contribution in the fields of culture and language.

Her first performance at British Parliament was on Lord Shiva. The composition was an Adhyatma Ramayan Kirtan that was presented at the Great Hall of House of Commons. Reminiscing on her journey and achievement, she says, “It’s a very proud moment for me to represent India and my roots. I have been performing at both the houses since 2015. Though all performances are close to my heart, the recent one on Vaastu Shastra was particularly challenging. What could I show through Bharatanatyam on Vaastu? Had to rack my brains on it, and I finally showed Ashtadikpaalakas (the ruling deities of eight directions as per mythology) and their significance. Similarly, the world knows many of Tagore’s Bengali compositions and the English translations. The piece that was suggested to me was in Mythili language that Tagore wrote on Lord Krishna. To first understand its meaning and then do abhinaya on it was intense for me.”

During a brief stay in India, Ragasudha performed at the World Telugu Conference held in the city and was also conferred the title of “Natya Kala Sudha” in Chennai. The award was given by veteran singer Padma Bhushan P. Susheela, in an event jointly organised by the World Telugu Federation and Sri Kala Sudha. Elaborating about her future plans, she says, “I am now gearing up to teach Mathuri tribal dance of Telangana, which has not been performed in the UK so far. I am sure audiences will be thrilled to see this dance form. Also, I am preparing for the UN World Water Day celebrations, the theme of which for 2018 is waste management. The choreography would revolve around how to keep our environment clean and green.”