Brisk movements and the ability to cope with complex rhythmic patterns were the best features of Anagha Bharath’s recital for Dasyam at R.K Swamy auditorium. A disciple of Jayanthi Subhramaniam and her mother Sudha Bharath, Anagha presented a cheerful picture without compromising on the high standards set by her teachers.
After the slokam and Pushpanjali, she moved to the main piece, ‘Innum En Manam,’ a varnam composed by Lalgudi varnam in Charukesi, Adi tala. The lyric was filled with twists and turns in the tala structure of not only the sollukattus but also the swaras which permeated through the charanam part of the varnam. The contiguous aruthis for the swaras were terse structures which demanded quick reflexes at a fast speed. The dancer did justice to Guru Jayanthi’s reckoning and kept a nice hold of the mathematical counts. That her stamina flagged towards the end did not stop her depictions here.
Her emoting was quite easy on the eyes and if the sanchari bhava needed greater clarity of thought, the main descriptions did not disappoint. At a few places, laxity in holding the mudras was clearly visible. The basic mood of yearning for Krishna was communicated well without dilution. In all, Anagha’s talent was evident but an insightful contemplation of the bhava aspect of dance and working on the small touches would definitely enrich her dancing.
‘Idhai Vida’ in Saveri, Rupakam, composed by Vaideeswaran Koil Subbarama Iyer which Anagha learnt from mother Sudha, was interpreted as a khandita nayika. The dancer portrayed the anger with several examples and brought in clever imagery while mocking the hero. While the emphasis of the main emotion wavered between anger and sarcasm, the sense of the wronged heroine was maintained.
A thillana in Suruti, Tisra Gati Adi, was a dynamic piece of natyam. The Kalinga Nartanam thillanna by Oothukadu Venkata Kavi was another test of tala and endurance which the dancer met competently. Jayanthi Subhramaniam’s nattuvangam was authoritative and the orchestral group including vocalist Nandini Anand, mridangam artist Nellai Kannan and violinist Kalaiarasan, added substance to the performance.
