Nrithya Milana, a Bharatanatyam-Kuchipudi jugalbandi by Anuradha Vikranth and Shama Krishna , was interesting since the artists used karanas as a common thread to link the dance forms. Anuradha has honed her skills in Bharatanatyam with Nirupama-Rajendra and Guru Narmada, while Shama has trained in Kuchipudi under Veena Murthy Vijay.
The duo started their programme with Pushpanjali and followed it with Ganesa Vandana.
In the first piece, they showcased all the 32 bhoomi and vyoma charis.
The highlight of their performance was ‘Arishadvarga.’ According to Indian philosophy, kama (lust), krodha (anger), lobha (greed), moha (desire/attachment), mada (pride) and matsarya (envy/jealous) in excess have adverse effect and hence, are the six enemies or ‘arishadvarga’ of Man. Drawing from mythology, Anuradha and Shama illustrated the consequences of arishadvarga. Urvashi’s lust for Arjuna, Siva’s anger directed at Ganesa, Kaikeyi’s demand that her son be made king of Mithila, Ravana’s desire for Sita, Ganga’s pride and Duryodhana’s envy after seeing Pandava’s palace built by Maya were depicted with élan and grace. Attractive formations had been choreographed, which were visually appealing andbrought out the beauty of both the dance forms.
Each segment had short nritta portions and dancers took turns to present the same in their respective styles. While Anuradha was impressive with good angika and controlled abhinaya, Shama had grace.
The piece on Sandhya Tandava of Siva, performed by Shama, was originally choreographed by Guru C. R. Acharyalu, which Shama learnt from her guru.
In this piece, though she performed several karanas such as Ganda Soochi, Kati Bhranta and Prenkholita, they did not stand out as they lacked finesse.
In the following padam, ‘Sendru Varuven Endru’ in ragamalika, Anuradha went through the emotions of a lovelorn woman waiting for her husband’s return. The duo chose Kanakadasa’s ‘Baro Krishnayya’ as the finale.
The choreography of this piece did not stand out as it had juxtaposed too many elements such as gopikas playing with little Krishna, nritta of Bharatanatyam-Kuchipudi including tarangam, and the dramatic presentation of Udupi Krishna turning towards Kanakadasa.
The Bangalore-based dancers performed to recorded music.