The dance festival hosted by Odissi dancer Sarita Mishra in Bangalore hosted a whole lot of performances.
Bismilla Khan yuva puraskar award winner, Kathak and contemporary dancer Madhu Nataraj of Stem Dance Kampani , was the first performer of the evening. She struck a rapport with the audience with the invocation of Mata Bhavani, describing her physical attributes and making references to things like her golden complexion. Madhu genuflected and aspired for the kind blessings of Devi, who is astride the lion and the one who has the eight yogic powers under her control . Bhakti-bhava was writ large in her total body language. But the piece-de-resistance of her presentation was her choreographic work on mystic poet Akka Mahadevi with the help of her mother Dr. Maya Rao, a dancer and a visionary. It was inspired by 12th century mystic poets, the ‘Sharanes’ of the Vachanas movement. She used the refined sensibilities and techniques of Kathak to tell the story of saint Akka Mahadevi, who considered Channamallikarjuna to be her consort and left home in his search. Madhu rounded off with a Thumri by Maharaj Bindadin, “Mohe chede dekhe sab nari”. Telling Yasoda’s son to allow her to fill water from the river. It was a “Baithke bhav batana”- the last piece her mother had taught her. A memorable piece where she sat and pleaded with Krishna to stop teasing her.
Odissi performer Aruna Mohanty-SNA awardee as well as the recipient of Padmashri enraptured the Bangalore audience with “Samsara”, The Soul’s journey and “Bhumi Suta”, daughter of the soil. Aruna Mohanty, who is the queen of abhinaya is no less in her nritta. “Samsara” –Soul’s journey- reminded me of Shakespere’s “Seven Ages of Man” in “As you Like it”, where the dramatist delineates through the character of melancholy Jacques, the different stages in life, one has to go through before he dies. Aruna Mohanty’s dance reflected on the cycle of birth and death and much more, where one needs, at the end of it all, to seek refuge in the lotus feet of the lord. Therefore the message was “Bhaja Govinda” – chant the name of the lord for the release of the soul. In elucidating this philosophy, she took episodes like the dice game in Kuru Sabha and the like. “Bhumi Suta” was about Sita, the text of which was written by Kedar Mishra. The life of Sita and her trials and tribulations were brought home with incidents from the Ramayana, dramatizing it with intense abhinaya and nritta, where required. Bhumi Suta or Sita born of the plough poignantly described her ordeals through convincing abhinaya. As her footwork matched with the mardala, her upper torso lilted to the rhythmic phrase giving her fluid movements an eternal beauty. She won over the audience which was made known through the thunderous clapping of the audience.
Kalamandalam Usha Datar performed “Putana Moksham”. Her Putana Moksham may have deviated from the sophisticated style of Kathakali, but it was a sure rabble-rouser and she was able to lead the audience to a state of enjoyment through her dramatic skills, which were akin to folk culture mingled with bits and pieces of the kalamandalam Kathakali style thrown in. Demoness
Guru Bhanumati and her senior disciple Sheela Chandrasekhar started the concert with a ragamalika composition of Saint Purandaradasa set to roopaka tala. The greatness of the dance choreography is that Guru Bhanumathi has dexterously incorporated the traditional games played by village children, donning a natural innocent expression. Sheela Chandrasekhar’s presentation of “Krishna Arjuna Samvada” gave a glimpse of the various nritta nuances of Bharatanatyam with perfection as also the abhinaya.
Their recital was completed with Bhanumati performing “Varugalaamo Ayya”, a Tamil lyric by Gopalkrishna Bharati. It was about Nandanar-a Dalit untouchable. When the Bhakta did reach Chidambaram to have a glimpse of his lord, but as an untouchable, his wish to see his lord at Tillai was denied. His agony, desire, bhakti and all the related emotions were displayed by Bhanumathi to the delight of the audience.
