Metaphysical realm

December 25, 2014 03:42 pm | Updated 07:19 pm IST

Malavika Sarukkai.  Photo: R. Ravindran

Malavika Sarukkai. Photo: R. Ravindran

Malavika Sarukkai, in a marked departure from her usual presentations, chose to re-visit explorations she had done years ago, to present her new work, ‘Vamatara—To the Light’ once again as a multimedia presentation.

This work which celebrates the vital energy of seeking, using the metaphor of the lotus, premiered at the Kartik Fine Arts’s Natya Darshan Symposium and Performance conclave.

Krishna, the hero of this production, had already been invoked into the space with noted historian Dr. B.N. Goswamy’s scholarly talk, taking us on a journey into the aesthetic arena of Pichwai paintings of Nathdwara. And the mood for the raasleela was set.

A large canvas of geometric shapes provided the backdrop. Even as the aptness of this backdrop for this theme was being mulled over, the dancer entered, showing us the pastoral beauty of the landscape and the flowing river, the birds and animals, and to the gopas, gopis and their cows, all part of Krishna’s home. As the dancer progressed with her depictions, correspondingly, layer after layer of geometric shapes from the canvas disappeared to slowly reveal a beautiful miniature painting encompassing the elements portrayed through her dance.

The paintings kept changing, enlarging, receding and moving continuously as the dance progressed. The dancer’s visualisation of the lotus buds blooming in the calm water of the pond from where she slowly moved into the physical realm, starting with the ‘Padma Paada’ - lotus feet, the hands holding the flower, to eyes shaped like lotus, finally culminating in the spiritual realm of the soul embedded like the lotus within… it was a poetic representation of the philosophy. The musical lines of ‘Neere Neere’ in the background, composed by C.V. Chandrasekhar, enhanced the visual impact.

Suddenly, the terrain shifted and it was a different milieu – the world of Andal and her Pasuram. The depiction of flowers being strung, Kama’s arrows and the intensity of her love for the Almighty were all sensitive portrayals, but sagged a little due to the extended time frame.

The final composition, which began with a vibrant nritta symbolising the slush of the water body before slowly tapering down to the calmness of the lotus pond from which the beautiful flower emerges, gave us a glimpse of the geometric lines and intense expressions one associates with the dancer as her signature style.

The musical score for each segment was by Seetharama Sharma, Prof. C.V. Chandrasekar and Vanathi Raghuram, respectively. The musical ensemble consisted of Nandini Anand (vocal), Neela Sukanya (the cymbals), Nellai Balaji (mridangam) and Srilakshmi Venkatramani. The multimedia design was by Rex and Harikrishnan.

The combination of two streams of art did have its share of problems. On the one hand, we had the visual poetry of the moving body, full of nuances of sensitive abhinaya; on the other, the static images of colourful expressions on a flat two dimensional plane. With the images also moving correspondingly to the dance, there was a constant tussle between the two streams, negating the impact of an aesthetic enjoyment of either of the art forms. The visual backdrop also necessitated the use of soft lighting whereby some of the exquisite subtleties of expressions were lost.

That the dancer was able to hold the attention of the viewer despite these setbacks speaks highly of the impact of her art on connoisseurs, established by her deep commitment over a long span of time.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.