Jayadeva’s 12th century epic work Gita Govindam is a timeless literary piece and a popular choreographic choice of dancers. At Natyarangam’s ‘Krishna Bharatham’ festival, BK Shafeekudeen and Shabana portrayed the essence of this work through crips nritta and select Ashtapadi hymns.
The presentation began with ‘Meghair meduram ambaram’, the introductory verses followed by an anjali thoughtfully composed by Dr. Vanathy Raghuraman in the rare Lathantapriya raga. This was followed by ‘Pralaya Payodhijale’ on the ten avatars of Krishna composed by Prof. C. V. Chandrasekhar for this performance. The choreography stood out. The performance gained pace with the sequences on Balarama and Budha. But it was only with ‘Lalita-Lavanga lata in lilting Vasantha raga that the story of Radha and Krishna unravelled.
The depiction of the playful Krishna and Radha in search of Krishna were impressive with the dancers’ alternate entries. Next in line was ‘Mamiyam calita vilokya’, a monologue composed by O. S. Arun in Sindhu Bhairavi where Krishna laments, “Alas, I made her leave in anger”. ‘Nindati chandanam’ in Darbari Kannada and ‘Yahi madhava’ in Mohanam were both musical compositions of V. P. Dhananjayan. Shabana portrayal of the sakhi who informs Krishna of Radha’s distress was engaging , especially the use of silence that endorsed the situation best. The artistic scope that ‘Vadasiyadi’ offered Shafeekudeen was not much left utilised. The closing Ashtapadi ‘Kuruyadu ‘where jayadeva writes, “Decorate me with your own hands in such a way that I become completely infused with you,” is lyrically so powerful that it is difficult to express it through movements and mime.
Perhaps, this explains why they still felt the requirement of a thillana to serve as a conclusion.
Overall, the choreographic interpretation of Jayadeva and Padmavathy alongside
Krishna and Radha was treated with good balance in terms of costume and aesthetics.
What ailed the production was its capacity to evoke romanticism; cupid was temporary and limited to the boundaries of the stage.
With Jayashree Ramanathan on the nattuvangam and Guru Bharadwaj on the mridangam, the vocalists Prashant Kaimal and Manoj who were handling Ashtapadi for the first time gained good support. Needless to mention Sruti Sagar on the flute and Sri Padmanabhan on the violin were like jackfruit and honey, whose melodic phrases not only swayed the audience but uplifted the appeal of the presentation.
