Of the dance programmes I witnessed, the prize for ‘sthayi bhava of the season’ would go to Bharatanatyam dancer Lavanya Ananth, disciple of late Gurus S.K. Rajarathnam Pillai and K.J. Sarasa.
The angry, hurt and sarcastic nayika who questions Varadaraja Swamy of Melattur regarding his being carried away by a ‘wily, lotus-eyed woman’ in the 45-minute Husseini swarajathi (‘Ye mayaladira’, Rupaka, Melattur Venkatrama Shastri) was portrayed with sensitivity, maturity and without losing intensity. Her performance was for Brahma Gana Sabha.
Over the years, she has chiselled herself into a mature artiste with an individual style. The nritta is a good balance of the old and the new. She has, incidentally, gone back to Guru Sarasa’s jathis for inspiration, and the abhinaya, guided by specialist Bharatnatyam dancer-teacher Bragha Bessell, is internalised and distilled into a subtle form.
Her mannerisms do remind you of celebrated dancer Priyadarsini Govind, but they have been reduced to occasional flashes; Lavanya has developed an organic vocabulary.
Brisk swarajathi
She presented a visually and musically bright invocatory dedicated to Krishna (ragamalika, Adi, lyrics by Prof S. Raghuraman, tuned by K. Hariprasad).
‘Kuzhal oodum maayane’ was a varnan, description, of the dark-hued cowherd, set to tune. Lavanya has an arresting natyarambam and she used it in the entry swaras to good effect. The swarajathi was similarly bright and brisk. The second jathi stood out with the karvais as eloquent as the korvai sequence. Jayashree Ramanathan’s elucidation was firm without grabbing attention from the dancer.
In fact, one of the reasons for the success of the programme was the orchestra. K. Hariprasad (vocal) contributed strong melody, especially haunting in the swarajathi, along with a supportive Kalaiarasan (violin). Nellai D. Kannan (mridangam) added colour to the invocation, and surprise interjections during the fast-paced ending ‘kitathaka tharikita thoms’ in the third jathi, to keep up the energy.
The Kshetrayya padam, ‘Nanne penlaadu Sami’ (ragamalika) required a nuanced portrayal of three women, a young, innocent girl, an older woman who is more experienced in love and the oldest who understands the ways of the world, (research quotes ancient litterateur Dhanamjaya in ‘Dasarupa’ further classifying the Svakiya or Sweeya nayika as mugda, madhya and praglabdha or praudha, according to their experience), as each of them propose to Krishna.
Lavanya’s easy abhinaya helped us distinguish one from the other. In the end, when Krishna has to choose among the women, was delivered with good timing. It drew laughter and applause.
The dancer concluded with Lalgudi Jayaraman’s Desh thillana, ‘Takadhim tadhim’ (Adi), using the slower pace for greater effect. The peacock-like steps to further the spirit of ‘Vela’ to whom the thillana is dedicated, were prettily presented. A thumbs up for Lavanya’s accomplishments.
