If there is perfection in Kuchipudi as it stands today among its myriad performers in this country, it is in the hands of Raja Reddy and his team. As always, it was like a bountiful rain on a parched land to see the duo Radha and Raja Reddy along with his daughters and disciples perform in the quintessentially Kuchipudi tradition. Everything from costume to colour, abhinaya to nritta and together to natya, from statuesque stances to perfect body kinetics, it was Kuchipudi at its best.
Though the veteran couple did not get into their usually vigorous dance style themselves, they nevertheless enthralled the audience with their thematic ‘Mahanatanam’ and their own virtuosity. Raja Reddy in his briefing emerged a scholar in the theoretical aspect of dance and the show only served to enrich this further. The theme was profound. Culled out of Nandikeswara’s Abhinaya Darpana, the Mahanatanam is the celestial dance of lord Nataraja /Shiva and His consort Parvathi, the two halves of a whole; the male and female principle in the universe and in dance parlance, the tandava and lasya aspects of natyam. It was Lord Shiva who was the fountainhead of dance; He had coined the primodial five jatis and laid the foundation of ‘natyam’.
While Raja and later Radha Reddy, gave us a glimpse of the archetypal adavu (footwork) patterns from a pedestal placed towards the far end of the stage, on the foreground were their daughters Yamini, Bhavana and disciples Sloka and Mahesh, introducing the theme and executing the nritta with verve and vigour. The mnemonics to pure music were elucidated through vivid nritta and sculpturous postures depicting lord of dance in all His glory. Yamini, always an excellent artiste in abhinaya and nritta showed traces of imbalance while striking static postures while this time around Bhavana excelled in all aspects. Mahesh needs to still work on his body kinetics, despite his pace and brisk execution of footwork.
With Raja Reddy’s ensemble, it is Kuchipudi with all grace, finesse and firm stance either in sancharis, expressive gesticulative output or pure dance. There is never a moment where you feel the dancers have slackened their bodies and frivolously executed the jatis on their feet! And yet, in every nerve, they mirror the Kuchipudi style of dancing and not Bharatanatyam. Credit goes to the guru who is able to instil the norms of classicality in his pupils and ensure that the tradition carries on sans dilutions. Raja and Radha Reddy have never tried to pander to popular tastes in the name of Kuchipudi; they have held steadfast to the tradition and if anything novel has been incorporated it was always within the framework of the medium, as reflected in their performances to date.
The ‘mayoora gathi’ (gait of a peacock) was the highlight of the evening with the four dancers, alternately pairing and artistically recreating the peacock’s gait in myriad ways to exquisite footwork patterns in different speed cycles. It was a brilliant piece of choreography to which the dancers did full justice. It was mind-boggling to see one pair after another enter like peacocks in resplendent dance mode. And then, as if giving this gathi a sanction, we can see the watchful eyes of lord Shiva and Parvathi on the pedestal bestowing compassionate glances on the dancers. The entire scene was most picturesque and authentic. It was as if the mystical and mythological element got translated into the tangible, namely, natya (dance).
A word about the costume which is a hallmark of Raja and Radha Reddy’s choreographies. They have a beautiful sense of dressing where the dancers are transformed into ethereal beings on stage. The shocking pink, wine and gold costume was perhaps the best though by and large it was aesthetics with artistic creativity that makes their thematic presentations so very beautiful to view. The performance marked the day one of Vysakhi Nrityotsav 2014 hosted at Kalabharathi.
