The most fascinating feature of a classical art form is that it gives an artist the freedom to pour out his or her imagination within a structured format. With reference to dance, a composition allows dancers to interpret it in a such a way that their experiences are often expressed in the most captivating manner.
These thought ran through my mind as I watched the dancer couple from Bengaluru, Sridhar and Anuradha, this past month.
The duo began on a vibrant note with Nrithyanjali in Abhogi, a composition of Aalur Anantakrishna Sharma, followed by a vachana by Basavanna. It was indeed amazing to watch the synchrony of movements between the two dancers.
The Shanmukapriya raga Lalgudi Jayaraman varnam, ‘Devar Munivar Thozum Padam’ was the main item. The varnam that describes the glory of Lord Venkateshwara of Tirumala had sequences referring to Draupadi vastraabaranam, Mahabali, Rama and Ahalya. The dancers depicted the episodes beautifully without going into an elaborate and exhaustive story-telling mode. To lend a contemporary touch, Sridhar took up the story of a devotee, whose only goal is to seek the Lord’s benevolence just so that he can receive great wealth from the Lord. He slowly climbs the hill, portraying perhaps an aging man, showing the varied tempos as he ascended the hill. It could also be symbolic of the contemporary man ‘climbing various ladders’ in his quest for material success. Finally, when he comes face to face with the image of the Lord, all his aspirations disappear, and in a superbly emotive manner, the dancer showed the feeling of total surrender or sharanagathi to the Lord.
The jatis were also interestingly choreographed with one segment, where they in complete coordination, and another, where the dancers responded to each other’s movements alternately.
Anuradha took up the classic Purvikalyani kriti of Dikshitar, ‘Meenakshi Memudham’, a rather unusual choice as it is a slow (chowka kalam)composition. Starting with the description of the beauty of the fish-shaped eyes of the goddess to the parrot on her shoulder, and the radiance of the stones in the jewellery to the radiance of Siva, every aspect was portrayed aesthetically and in a leisurely pace. It was interesting to note that both the varnam and the kriti were on a descriptive mode. Yet, to elevate it to an experiential experience calls for high calibre of artistry, which was in abundance here. The composition of V. Seetharamiah set to music in Kapi by Balasubramania Sharma, ‘Kathiruvaru Sabari’, was a poignant portrayal by Sridhar. The dancer submerged his identity so completely into the character that every gesture and posture brought alive the character of Sabari. There were some wonderful moments of exquisite abhinaya - the sensitive manner in which Sabari prepares her home and also cleans herself so completely... one segment held the audience spellbound - the manner in which Sabari washes her hair, squeezing out the tail ends of her hair drip-dry. The beauty of it was the detailed manner in which Sridhar portrayed an inconsequential act into one of importance. When finally Sabari falls at the feet of her Lord, there were very few dry-eyed in the audience!
Often, thillana that follows as a concluding piece, can shake up the viewer from a reverie, especially after an intense and emotional artistic experience. So it was truly heartening that Anuradha and Sridhar concluded their performance with the sloka, ‘Kayenavacha’, most appropriately.
Such high calibre of dancing also requires the able support of its musical ensemble. The dancers were indeed fortunate to have the able support of Balasubramania Sharma (vocal), U.V. Prasanna Kumar (nattuvangam), Harsha Samaga (mridangam), Nataraja Moorthy (violin), and Mahesh Swamy (flute) who added melody to movement.
