It might be a safe assumption, at best, to say that the average resident in a non-metropolitan city in South India, has less access to classical dance than one in a metropolitan city, with exceptions like Chidambaram and Thanjavur. However, most non-metros in South India interestingly come under one of the three categories viz. a University town, a Temple Town or a Melting Pot of both. Mangaluru, the culture-rich coastal beauty of a town, was home to ‘Samarpan’, an annual two-day dance festival, organised by Nrityaangan, a charitable trust, to promote Indian Classical Dance in Dakshina Kannada.
Over the last four years of ‘Samarpan’, seniors and young dancers of calibre have been showcased. Headed by dancer Radhika Shetty, Nrityaangan has been set up with the purpose of bringing the average audience of Mangaluru to watch classical dance. “There has been a fair amount of dance in the city but it has remained unnurtured and isolated. The festival performance slots have been organised to incorporate diverse classical styles and thematic presentations, along with the traditional Margam, to give the audience a good variety,” says Radhika Shetty.
In its fifth and milestone year, ‘Samarpan’ presented a bouquet of performances, that delivered the variety in classical dance without compromising on the quality. The first evening started with the performance of Shubamani Chandreshekar, disciple of Sharadhamani Shekar and Rama Vaidyanathan and a promising talent. She started her performance with a Devi Stuti, followed by a Padam and a Javali, that have been performed a couple of times by Rama Vaidyanathan herself, who has choreographed them. However, one hardly tires from watching Subramania Bharati’s beautiful lyrics ‘Aasai Mugam’, laced in Jaunpuri, particularly when it is well-choreographed and neatly executed, as was also the case with the Javali ‘Dani Bodana’.
The subsequent recital was a Kuchipudi performance by danseuse Sreelakshmy Govardhanan. Sreelakshmy started with the Mandodari Shabdam. The piece depicted the lifting of the curse on Mandodari, that transforms her from a frog “Manduka” to a graceful woman, who mesmerizes Ravana. The second Daravu, ‘“Siggayeno yamma’, from ‘Bhama Kalapam’, the magnum opus by saint poet Siddendra Yogi was next. The concluding piece was a Krishna Stuti with the Tarangam, where elaborate foot movement was executed on the rim of a brass plate. While all pieces were picked from the traditional Kuchipudi repertoire, the choreography and artistry of Sreelakshmy shone, particularly in Poothana Moksham.
One could comment the same on the artistry of the final performance of the day by Dr. Soundarya Srivathsa. She performed a thematic presentation on Draupadi, as one who waged a losing war all her life – against her scheming father, to reject Karna and pick Arjuna, against the hopeless situation of accepting five husbands, against the Kauravas who insulted her in a full court and against her loss of her sons in terrible Kurukshetra war.
When most episodes in the Mahabharatha are a consequence of a preceding sequence of events, the need for projecting Draupadi in that light was questionable. However, the finesse in portraying the complexity of the character was worthy of praise. The various ingredients of a thematic presentation were appropriately combined, including excellent music from a wonderful live orchestra, which comes with a certain experience.
The second day evening of ‘Samarpan’ started with a short performance by Shriya, Radhika Shetty’s student from Nrityaangan. While one wants to be encouraging of a young student, for presenting her confident best, it would have been appropriate to present junior students on a different platform, where they do not have to face a flood of lights alone on a big stage.
The thematic presentation for the evening was ‘Shikandi’, by Himanshu Srivastava, a multi-faceted dancer and painter. The production showed Shikandi transform twice, once physically, when converted by a Yaksha to a man and the other mentally while receiving Krishna’s guidance in the battlefield. The performance was excellently nuanced in showing Shikandi swing between personal emotions and societal demands. “Shikandi still fights among us, everyday a new battle” said the script at the end, which would have been a lovely way taking forward the idea into current day relevance, instead of stopping with simply retelling an existing story.
The final performance of the festival by Aishwarya Nithyananda, solidified the above thought that started taking form while watching the other dancers. Aishwarya performed the Ardhanari Sthotra, the vintage Husseini Swarajathi ‘Ye Mayaladi Ra’ as a Varnam, a Meera Bhajan and finally a Devarnama by Saint Purandara Dasa. The sturdy Nritta, the abandon in the Nayika unapologetically removing her wedding ring due to infidelity, the beautiful differentiation between the laughter of people gossiping about Meera and the laughter of Meera herself after drinking the poison, all spelt maturity in Aishwarya’s dancing, making for a wonderful finale to the festival.
Nrityaangan along with ‘Samarpan’, organises another annual event ‘Manthana’ and ‘Jnana Vahini’ to help children develop interest in Indian classical arts. Radhika Shetty being a practitioner herself, definitely adds an edge to her efforts.
