Nimble footwork, deft gestures and eloquent expressions captivated audiences at a bharathanatyam performance of Lakshmi Ramaswamy, a top grade Doordarshan artiste at the Chinna Melam festival held at the Sri Brihadeshwara Temple here recently.
The two-hour performance included rare and lesser known compositions interestingly drafted and carefully selected, so that the audience were not just entertained but returned home with unique information. After a solo performance of her student, Jagyaseni Chatterjee, Dr.Lakshmi Ramaswamy continued with a group presentation.
Jagyaseni began her recital with a Brahma Sandhi Kavutuvam. Performed in temple rituals initially, nava-sandhis — compositions of Lords of the nine directions — were revived by K.P. Kittappa and K.P. Sivanandam in the 1960s. It was followed by yet another rare composition of the Tanjore Quartet in praise of Lord Rama, ‘Saami Ninne,’ and a Sabdam followed next.
The central piece was the varnam. Composed by Geethapriyan, ‘Sakhiye nee solladi’ in Ragam Kalyani, showcased the dancer’s ability to spontaneously react to the live orchestra. The lovelorn Nayika pleads to her sakhi, telling her that “this is the right time to go and request her Lord to come to her.”
The Big Temple has a separate sannadhi for Goddess Varahi on whom the Keerthana Sri Raja Rajeswari that followed the varnam was based. This one is believed to be the first composition of the Thanjavur Quartet, where they are also found to call themselves as dasas of their teacher Sri Muthuswami Dikshitar.
The Pallavi and Anupallavi focused on solo renditions in which Dr.Lakshmi Ramaswamy began with the Pallavi. The jathis were newly composed and created a fresh aura. Dr. Lakshmi’s portrayal of Gangavatarana was powerful and gripping.
The conclusion with five dancers portraying manmatha, holding five different flowers with the nayika reminding Manmatha the power of Lord Brihadeshwara who had once turned Manmatha into ashes. An interesting addition in the repertoire was a javali, ‘Mutta vaddura’ rendered by Lakshmi that begins with an unusual ‘eduppu’ of 1.5 beats set to Saveri Ragam.
Thillana in Behag served as a perfect ending. The dancers were accompanied by musicians Veeraraghavan on vocals, Vedakrishna Ram on Mridangam, Anantha Krishnan on violin. Nattuvangam and choreography was by Dr. Lakshmi, and supported well by Purnima Sriraman, who also performed on stage. The other dancers were Vaishinavee Tittei, Dhivya Srilakshmi, Manasa KB, Ananya Duvvuri and Jagyaseni Chatterjee.
