Samskriti Celebrates 20 Years of Service to Houston Arts

Dr. Sangita Rangala

Dr. Sangita Rangala

HOUSTON: In 1994, two friends, Thara Narasimhan and Rathna Kumar, decided to start an eclectic non-profit arts organization that would bring to Houston high caliber performances of all Indian art forms by internationally reputed artists. True to its vision, Samskriti has presented eminent artists like Vyjayantimala Bali, Alarmel Valli, Dr. Padma Subrahmanyam, Dr. Vempati Chinna Satyam, Kelucharan Mahapatra, Sanjukta Panigrahi, Priyadarshini Govind, Dr. Balamuralikrishna, Pt. Hariprasad Chaurasia, Ustad Zakir Hussain, Bombay Jayashree, Lushin and Lilette Dubey. Samskriti is the only organization to have conducted seven extraordinary conferences on a variety of topics – Indian dance, music, paintings, architecture, literature and history, bringing in scholars from around the world to share their knowledge and expertise.

Sophia Salingaros

Sophia Salingaros

In its pursuit of artistic excellence, Samskriti has sponsored many teachers of different art forms to come and set up classes in Houston at the Anjali Center, among them Pandit Suman Ghosh, Pandit Shantilal Shah and Mahesh Mahbubani, all of whom have now become well established teachers and performers in their own right.

Megna Murali

Megna Murali

Samskriti’s signature shows at the Miller Outdoor Theatre – Bollywood Blast and Incredible India – have created history by drawing the largest crowds for Indian performances. Bollywood Blast 2014 will showcase the versatile Arzan Gonda and her Rhythm India Dance Company. On Sunday, April 6, Samskriti will premiere Artistic Director Rathna Kumar’s magnum opus, DASHAVATAR, a dance drama, at the Wortham Center.

Samskriti 2014 season opens with SANGAMAM (Convergence) featuring three lovely dancers – Dr. Sangita Rangala (Chicago), Megna Murali (Dallas) and Sophia Salingaros (San Antonio) – who have pursued their art with single-minded devotion. Sangita, a practicing ER physician and dedicated Kuchipudi teacher, is a student of Rathna Kumar, has performed in India and twice toured the US with Rathna’s Guru Dr. Vempati Chinna Satyam’s group. Megna Murali, adept at both Bharatanatyam and Kathak, has studied the latter under Murali Mohan Kalvakalva of Nadam, Bangalore, and regularly performs in the US and India. Sophia Salingaros, a Greek-Belgian by birth, took to Indian dance like a duck to water, and was selected as a 2013 National Young Arts Finalist in Bharatanatyam. She is a disciple of Dr. Sreedhara Akkihebbalu of San Antonio.

SANGAMAM – Saturday, February 22, 5.00 PM, Kaplan Theater, Jewish Community Center, 5601 S. Braeswood Blvd, Houston, TX 77096. Tickets: $20, 10. Call: 832 275 9656/832 275 9658. All Samskriti programs are part funded by grants from the Texas Commission on the Arts and the City of Houston through the Houston Arts Alliance.