To mark the 60th Anniversary of Singapore’s Independence the Singapore Indian Fine Arts Society (SIFAS) presented a production under the title ‘Universal Balance’, an artistic tribute to the eternal dualities that shape our world, brought to life through the symbolic union of Siva and Vishnu, ‘Hari-Hara. This was presented at the Bharatha Kalakshetra Auditorium on 14th September 2025. 

There was a welcome address by K V Rao, the President of SIFAS, where he traced the connection between Kalakshetra and SIFAS, highlighting that the institution continues to be guided exclusively by Kalakshetra alumni.

The production was in two segments, a musical concert and a dance presentation. The musical concert, Narayanam, featured six compositions on Vishnu curated by Jyothishmathi Shreejit. The concert included a varnam in Behag, a Vinayaka Stuti in Nagaswaravali, a Tyagaraja kriti in Vijayashree, a Muthuswamy Dikshitar composition in Kamboji, a Mysore Vasudevachariar kriti in Kedaram, and concluded with a Lalgudi Jayaraman Tillana in Yaman Kalyani. The musicians were competent; what they lacked in experience they made up in sincerity.

The dance presentation, ‘Tillai - the abode of Lord Shiva’ was conceptualised by Geethanandan, the senior Bharatanatyam tutor at SIFAS, an alumni of Kalakshetra Foundation. The performance started with a kriti in praise of Parashakti in Hamsadhwani, followed by a varnam in Natakurinji a composition of Papanasam Sivan, and then a kriti describing the presence of Hari and Haran in Thillai, a composition of Gopalakrishna Bharati in Suruti. The concluding piece was a group presentation Ananda Nadam Aaduvar in Purvi Kalyani. Although one can say, the dancing was satisfactory, there was still a lingering feeling that the dancers could have grasped the essence of the pieces better.

The Chief Guest for the evening was the Consul-General of Singapore, Edgar Pang, who in his speech was very appreciative of the collaboration between India and Singapore, which was instrumental in making such events possible.