Pravin Godkhindi

Flutist

Pandit Pravin Godkhindi is from Dharwad, which is considered the cradle of Hindustani music in Karnataka. His father, Venkatesh Godkhindi, a renowned vocalist and bansuri artist, was his first guru, teaching him Kirana Gharana Gayaki style. He gave his first concert at the age of 6 and held the audience spellbound. Later under mridangum artist Anoor Ananthakrishna Sharma, he mastered the layakari. Pravin later added the Gatkaari and Tantrakaari styles to his music knowledge by his own effort.

In 2015, Pravin became the first to perform Indian classical music on the 8-foot-long contrabass flute. He is adept in traditional, creative, western, Carnatic and fusion styles of music.

Pravin has performed with eminent musicians like Ustad Zakir Hussain, Dr. Balamuralikrishna, Pt. Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, Dr. Kadri Gopalnath, Sivamani and many more. He has received innumerable awards both nationally and internationally, including an award from the honorable president of India for the music of the films Beru and Vimukthi. Pravin is the first artist from Karnataka to represent India in bansuri at the World Flutes Festival in Argentina.

Shijith Nambiar & Parvathy Menon

Dancers

Shijith Nambiar, an ex-­faculty member of Kalakshetra, the world-­renowned institution at Chennai, is a multifaceted artist having exceptional choreographic skill and musical sense. Within a short span of leaving Kalakshetra, in pursuit of exploring the intricacies of Bharatanatyam, Shijith has established an identity in the discipline of Bharatanatyam in India as well as abroad. His performances have received great acclaim from prominent exponents of the discipline in India and abroad.

Parvathy Menon, post diploma holder from Kalakshetra, is a serious advocate of the discipline with unrelenting passion for the great art form inherited from the past.  As a guest artist of Kalakshetra as well as partner in dance with Shijith, Parvathy has already achieved a place in the highly challenging artistic arena in India and abroad. Her outstanding expressive skills and ability to work within the traditional framework make her performances elegant and communicating. She respectfully attributes her success to all her gurus especially from Kalakshetra.

Shijith and Parvathy are the young ambassadors of the divine art form Bharatanatyam in the true sense. They have undertaken, voluntarily and successfully, the task of demonstrating the spiritual power of Bharatanatyam through their expositions at various stages in India and abroad. The unperturbed passion and dedication, apart from the true adherence to the traditions, make them unique and exemplary in their discipline.

Shijith and Parvathy have had the opportunity of working with great exponents in the field of Bharatanatyam. They have collaborated with various production companies and participated in Festivals of Dance across the globe. Together, they explore the intricacies of Bharatanatyam, together they worship the spirituality of Bharatanatyam, together they pursue the dialogue of cultures in Bharatanatyam, and finally, together they take you to experience Bharatanatyam.

Vinod Shyam Anoor

Mridangam

Vinod Shyam Anoor comes from a rich musical heritage. He is a fifth-generation musician from the Anoor family, a family known for musicians and ambassadors of Carnatic classical music. He started learning mridangam at the age of 10 under Vidwan R. Sathyakumar and is presently learning under his illustrious father Vidwan Anoor Ananthakrishna Sharma, who is a multifaceted mridangam artist, genius musician, and sought after guru of Indian classical music.

An All India Radio A-graded artist, Vinod has performed with music stalwarts including Vidwan S. Shankar, Vidwan Vidyabhushana, Vidwan Mysore Nagaraj – Mysore Manjunath, Vidushi Kanyakumari, M. S. Sheela, Aruna Sairam, Nagamani Srinath, T. S. Sathyavathi, Mandolin Rajesh, Vidwan Sriram Parasuram, and Prapancham Seetharam.