It was evident from start to finish that young dancer Medha Hari has a strong foundation in the grammar of Bharatanatyam. The vibrancy of her performance at the Music Academy held the audience interest throughout. The slim and petite frame worked in her favour as she filled the nritta segments with fast-paced movements, a dominant feature of her presentation.
The pushpanjali in Arabhi, set to music by Balamuralikrishna, was drawn from the Kuchupudi repertoire. Right from this first piece, she covered the stage space with lithe jumps and leaps. Addressed to lord Tanjapurishwara, the Tanjore quartet varnam ‘Karunajooda’ in Atana, the central piece of the show, was choreographed with jathi korvais, which were a little too long, but the dancer handled them with confidence and competence.
The sancharis she used to communicate the nayika’s state of mind without her lord was impressive. She drew an analogy to the lotus and how it needs the energy of the sun to bloom and wilts without it. The description of the temple architecture, festivities and music and dance to herald the procession, visualisation of the deity on the palanquin and this beautiful milieu shaking the nayika from her stupor were effectively conveyed by Medha. However, the dancer could avoid standing in poses in the abhinaya segments.
‘Ponnamaal’, Kalki’s humorous and folksy composition, was rich in imagery with the dancer’s verse-specific movements embellishing it further. The Sindhubhairavi thillana was full of beautiful swirls and turns, but an overdose of the same reduces the impact. The musical team consisted of Jaishri Ramanathan (nattuvangam), Hariprasad (vocal), Kalaiarasan (violin), Srutisagar (flute) and Ramachandra Babu (mridangam).
