The IHC CultureFest, which began on September 5, drew to a close on Sunday. This year’s edition of the festival featured an eclectic line-up of programmes, performances, workshops and daily cultural showcases revolving around the epic Indian literary work – The Ramayana.
On Sunday, September 20, CultureFest’s finale featured Singapore Indian Fine Arts Society (SIFAS) teachers and students in a production titled The Return of the King.
The Singapore Indian Fine Arts Society – SIFAS performed a classical Bharatanatyam dance piece which focused on the triumph of light over darkness in the tale of Ramayana.
Read here all about IHC CultureFest 2020 and the performances
This concluding performance, celebrating the return of the exiled King Rama after 14 years to Ayodhya, was elegantly choreographed and set to mellifluous music with beatific lyrics.
The performance depicts Rama and Sita being welcomed on their return home to Ayodhya after his victory over Ravana, followed by the royal coronation ceremony or Rajya Pattabhishekam.
Teachers of SIFAS, including Vikas Parayalil, Sreeliji, Geethanadhan, Krishnan and Afsar Khan, performed together with young dancers who are students at the academy.
Not only the dancers, but also the singers, musicians as well as the set designers for the grand coronation are from among the members and faculty at SIFAS.
Bharatanatyam recitals traditionally end with the Mangalam, an auspicious ending, where the performer pays her respects and bows to offer Namaskarams to God, Guru and the audience to conclude a recital.
This performance too followed tradition with a ‘Mangalam’ doubling as an auspicious ending to the #ihcculturefest as well.
Watch the full performance The Return of the King by SIFAS on the Indian Heritage Centre Facebook page here.
Watch the videos of all the exciting events and programmes from the 6th edition of the CultureFest at IHC CultureFest via Facebook.