Mumbai : Tanjaleela – An Indian Classical Dance Festival will bring four of India’s classical dance traditions together on one stage on Sunday, October 25, 2026, at 11:30 AM at Prabodhankar Thackeray Main Auditorium, Borivali (West), Mumbai. Presented by Guru Ajita Patil, of Tanjavur Nritya Shala, Kandivali, the festival is sponsored by Dhantarang Fintech Pvt. Ltd.
Tanjaleela will feature Avani Santhosh for Mohiniyattam, Shaayaree Patil for Bharata Natyam, Rangrupa Bora for Sattriya and Shivani Avadhani for Kuchipudi, offering audiences an opportunity to experience four distinct classical traditions, their unique movement vocabularies and storytelling styles.
The festival has been conceived to make Indian classical dance more accessible to wider audiences while creating a platform for artistes who have dedicated years to learning and practising these traditional forms.
“Classical dance is a living tradition that grows with every generation. With Tanjaleela, I wanted to bring different classical forms and allow audiences to experience their individual beauty on one stage. It is equally important to create platforms for young dancers to perform, connect with audiences and take these traditions forward. I hope Tanjaleela becomes a celebration of this continuity – from our Gurus and their knowledge to the young artistes who will carry it into the future,” said Guru Ajita Patil.
Ajita Patil holds a Master of Arts in Bharata Natyam and has dedicated several decades to the sadhana of this classical form. Her greatest joy lies in teaching, nurturing and inspiring the next generation of dancers, enabling them to carry forward the rich cultural legacy that she herself received from her Guru Tejaswini Lele and lineage of Gurus from Tanjavur, Late Acharya Parvathi Kumar, Pandit Venugopal Pillai and Guru Jayashree Pillai.
Tanjaleela also represents a continuation of this tradition across generations, with Guru Ajita’s daughter, Shaayaree Patil, performing Bharata Natyam at the festival. Shaayaree has undergone 18 years of training in Bharata Natyam and holds a Bachelor’s degree in Bharata Natyam from Nalanda Nritya Kala Mahavidyalaya. Shaayaree is also a Doordashan Graded Bharata Natyam Artist.
Through four distinct dance forms and four artistes, Tanjaleela seeks to celebrate India’s rich classical arts landscape while encouraging a new generation of audiences to discover and engage with these living traditions.
***