It moved, it tickled and it entertained. Srekala Bharat's celebration of her completing 40 years in the field of Bharatanatyam and ten years of Thejas, her dance school was a meticulously planned affair. The tastefully decorated stage was the scene of several poignant moments as Srekala honoured her guru K.J. Sarasa with a shawl and purse and the mentor reciprocated speaking of her famous disciple with warmth and affection, as Padma Subrahmanyam felicitated Srekala along with Bharat, her pillar of support, and Dr. Biswajit, neurologist, thanks to whom Srekala was given a new lease of life, saluted the dancer's courage and tenacity. The idea was to thank those who played key roles in Srekalas' artistic journey and the dancer did it in sumptuous fashion, the chosen members, apart from Guru Sarasa were Dr. Padma Subrahmanyam, Dr. Biswajit, Kala Ratnakar, Guru Narasimhachari, Rukmini Ramani and Nandini Ramani. And the dancer did not forget the team that has stood by her all these years. From young Kuldeep Pai to the veteran Sethuraman, make-up artist, everyone was acknowledged.
A medley presented by Srekala and her students stood out for its sincerity and vibrancy. The video capsule that traced Srekala's voyage was crisp and gripping - a novel way that saved time. Kuldeep's music score deserves mention here.
The audience lapped up the colourful show, which was, however, marred by a couple of aspects. Srikkanth's welcome address for instance. In a lighter vein and a mixture of Tamil and English, it was shocking that he knew nothing about a couple of the people his sister had chosen to honour. And the anchor made faux pas while introducing the special guests. Such glitches indicate carelessness for which surely Srekala was not responsible.
