The bond beautiful

Real life couple Srikanth and Ashwathi showed what perfect partners they are on stage, writes Charukesi

January 28, 2016 07:41 pm | Updated September 23, 2016 11:18 pm IST

CHENNAI, TAMIL NADU, 05/01/2016: Bharatnatyam dancers N. Srikanth and Aswathy V. Nair. Photo: V. V. Krishnan

CHENNAI, TAMIL NADU, 05/01/2016: Bharatnatyam dancers N. Srikanth and Aswathy V. Nair. Photo: V. V. Krishnan

When Srikanth dances, he dazzles. There is not a dull moment. His versatility is enhanced by his wife and dance partner Ashwathi, who adds elegance and aesthetics to the presentation. This was evident in their recent performance.

Srikanth hails from the Bhagavata Mela tradition and his tutelage under guru Padma Subrahmanyam has chiselled the nuances of his Bharatanatyam to perfection. Certain sways and movements reminded viewers of this school’s special attributes.

Srikanth and Ashwathi began with a Pushpanjali in Tamil – ‘Paalum Theli Thenum’ by Avvayar, in Nattai.

The varnam, ‘Saveri hadhanuja santhatham’ by Swati Thirunal in Saveri was refreshingly new, as it is not often handled by contemporary dancers. The special jatis for this piece were composed by the mridangam artist Nagai Sriram.

The sancharis in the earlier part of the varnam depicted anecdotes from Abirama Bhattar’s life, of how he was saved by the goddess when he was about to be punished. The portrayal was impressive. The description of the goddess’s tresses came through beautifully in the charanam.

A couple on stage together has its own charm and Srikanth and Ashwathi shared a nice rapport.

Ashwathi’s fluid movements blended well with Srikanth’s majestic approach. Since both are strong in nritta, it enhanced the quality of the performance. Their abhinaya skills came through in in the padam ‘Netru Varen Endru’ in Pantuvarali, where Ashwathi laments that her beloved has not turned up, while Srikanth in the Purandaradasar song, ‘Gummana gayathirey’ showed Yashoda reprimanding the mischievous Krishna. The song, in Tilang, was enchantingly portrayed. The concluding item by the couple was a thillana with Sankara Srigiri of Swati Thirunal woven into the format.

Hariprasad’s singing was melodious and Jayashree provided gentle nattuvangam. Nagai Sriram was on the mridangam and Easwar Ramakrishnan played the violin.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.