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Wesleyan University to host 49th Annual Navaratri Festival
The university's annual Navaratri Festival was established in 1976.
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Bhavana P - Sat, 13, Sep 2025
- 16:37 EDT
- 16
Navaratri banner / Wesleyan University
Wesleyan University will present its 49th annual Navaratri Festival from Sept. 24, through Sept. 27, 2025, continuing a long-standing tradition of promoting South Indian music, dance, and cultural scholarship.
Established in 1976, the festival serves as a platform to showcase both classical South Asian art forms and contemporary reinterpretations.
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The festival will open on September 24 with a Music Department Colloquium honoring the centenary of T. Ranganathan (1925–1987), a prominent mrdangam (double-headed drum) player and former Wesleyan Artist in Residence. Graduate student Hansini Bhasker and adjunct associate professor David Nelson will lead a panel discussion examining Ranganathan’s enduring legacy.
Key performances include a vocal music concert by adjunct professor B. Balasubrahmaniyan, accompanied by David Nelson on mrdangam, on September 25, marking the duo’s 21st anniversary collaboration at the festival.
On September 26, the festival will feature the New England premiere of Samavesha, a gender-bending reinterpretation of the Indian epic Mahābhārata by husband-and-wife dance duo Srikanth Natarajan and Aswathy Srikanth. The same day, Wesleyan students will present a dance showcase followed by the WesGrooves Social Dance Series, a Bollywood dance event open to all participants.
On September 27, the festival will host Saraswati Puja, a Hindu ceremony celebrating knowledge, creativity, and new beginnings, followed by a student music showcase and a performance by flute master Shashank Subramanyam, accompanied by violinist Sruthi Sarathy and mrdangam artist Patri Satish Kumar.
Subscription packages for ticketed performances are available through the Wesleyan University Box Office, with discounted rates for students, seniors, faculty, and alumni. Many events, including student showcases and the puja, are free to the public.
Presented by Wesleyan’s Center for the Arts, Music Department, and Dance Department, with support from the Madhu Reddy Endowed Fund for Indian Music and Dance, the Navaratri Festival underscores the university’s commitment to sustaining South Asian artistic traditions while fostering a broader cultural dialogue.
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