Dressed in a simple but elegant costume, young Preethi Tatambhotla, disciple of Sobha Naidu, gave a Kuchipudi recital at Saptaparni under the aegis of Natya Swara, recently.
Her rhyhmic variations and orientation with nritta was typical of her guru who choreographed all the numbers. Preethi opened her show with Pranamamyaham Sree Gowri Sutam in Gowla, of Vasudevachar as an ode to Lord Vinayaka that began with a sloka. She began with abhinaya and finally moved to the idol of Vinayaka in a corner of the stage, for doing puja.
A number of brisk and expansive jatis interwoven into drama by Sobha Naidu made an impact at every stage. Known mridangam artiste Renuka Prasad then took over as nattuvanar and conducted the show brilliantly displaying command on each syllable of jatis.
His wife Swetha Prasad, a Carnatic singer, provided mellifluous vocal support with sahitya clarity. Preethi’s dance for Krishnam Kalayasakhi Sundaram in Ragamalika in Adi talam, threw light on the concept of aesthetics with verve and joy.
It was quite a long number, giving detailed picture of Krishna’s various acts that gave space more for abhinaya. Okaparikokapari Vayyaramey in Kharaharapriya, a Sringara kirtana of Annamacharya was taken up by Preethi.
The content slowly evolved with Preethi changing into characters of Venkateswara and Alamelumanga and the mischievous love-lorn deeds with subtle movements, agility and precise nritta.
A Jayadeva Ashtapadi Radhika Krishna set in ragamalika presented Vipralambha Sringaram. Radha’s long wait for her Krishna is conveyed to Krishn by her maid.
This number was loaded with challenging emotional drama. Thanks to well-chiselled choreography by Sobha Naidu, Preethi went through the number taking on different characters and successfully interpreting them.
There were interlude positions where she gets into acts of mime to instrumental music with varied shades of beauty as imagined by Jayadeva.
Preethi’s performance concluded with Dhanasri tillana with statuesque posturing to intricate sollukattu. Sarma on mridangam, Chandra Rao on violin and Dattatreya on flute created a good combination.
