Monisha Arts presented a Bharatanatya recital by Satya Narayana Raju. Great zest, assiduous endeavour and conscientiousness all combine enthusiastically in this male dancer; something not seen often.
Commencing his recital with a varna set to raga Shanmughapriya in adi tala in praise of the presiding deity of Chidambaram, the dancer created an immediate rapport with the audience. Immaculate abhinaya spoke of the artist's skill as a dancer.
The “Tat jham taka jham, tak kita jham” jati with its complex permutation and combination of adavus, taut teermanams traversing the proscenium, choreographed and executed in a sophisticated manner deserve praise.
The neat linear structures of the form, flawless aramandis, neat thatta and natta adavus, coupled with neat subtle bending of body sideways during kudditas so as to accomplish refinement was well visualised.
The varna started slowly with the tempo gradually building up, supported by a taut nattuvangam by Shakuntala aggrandised the overall effect.
The swaras “va va …arulva”, with the dancer's earnest desire to meet the supreme soul, was executed commendably.
The implementation of the ardhanarishwara concept portraying feminity towards the left side of the body of the dancer with a concomitant hasta projected a deliberate study. Satya's clear demarcation of the masculine vigour of Lord Shiva on the right side of his body as a part of manodharma was brought out with ease.
The decoration process of the chariot of Lord Nataraja, and devotees' eagerness to carry it during the procession held on the street of Chidambaram in the vicinity of the temple were executed with finesse.
The varna concluded with the devotee requesting the deity of dance to forgive him for his flaws that he might have committed inadvertently.
He then moved on to a Tulsidas bhajan set to raga Sindhubhairavi in adi tala. Accompanying him with soulful singing was Karthik, with his clear diction and voice modulation that brought out the pathos while demonstrating the karunya rasa in the episode where Rama refuses to give in to Bharata's request to return to the kingdom; it deserved much applause.
The bhajan concluded with the devotee of Lord Rama surrendering himself at the feet of the lord. Neat sculpturesque poses and awesome nritta movements marked the velocity of Sri Balamurli Krishna's Brindavani Thillana in adi tala. Scrupulously choosing “Bhajaeham siroham” as a mangalam instead of the traditional “pavamanam” spoke of the dancer's brilliant choice as a performer.
