Accent on aesthetics

The just concluded week-long Salethil Tiruvaiyaru festival Bharatham, in Salem showcased some fine music and dance performances.

Annapoorna Kuppuswamy, a Bharatanatyam dancer, choreographer and critic based in the U.K., presented a solo production titled ‘Tyagaraja Ramanayam.' This disciple of Kalanidhi Narayanan and Savithri Jagannatha Rao, chose to depict important episodes from the epic through Tyagaraja kritis and Valmiki Ramayana slokas.

Annapoorna, a neuroscientist, cleverly interspersed kritis with theermanams, laying accent on the aesthetics. She portrayed every character with equal depth and conviction. Her nritta projected confidence and reflected her experience as a performer. She concluded her recital with the Pancharatna kriti ‘Saadhinchene.'

The orchestra comprised Vanathy Raghuraman (vocal), Venkatakrishnan Mahalingam (nattuvangam), Vedakrishnaram Venkatesan (mridangam), Veeramani Nagaraj (violin) and Devaraj Ethirajulu (flute).