For want of a better word, Krithika Shurajit’s Bharatanatyam performance for Karthik Fine Arts, was ‘neat.’ The rhythms were catchy, the style of delivery was direct and the interpretations, crisp.
The music was rich -- Chitrambari, egged on by senior violinist T. K. Padmanabhan’s attentive bowing, delivered some high-quality music, while K.P. Ramesh Babu (mridangam) added punch with his non-stop dexterity. Dancer-teacher-TV personality Radhika Shurajit was at the helm.
Krithika is Radhika’s daughter and disciple and learns from her aunt, dancer-teacher Shobana Bhalchandra. This attractive youngster possesses an instinctive feel for rhythm and mime. She has an impressive presence and a dazzling smile that is used frequently, but never inappropriately. She is a confident dancer; there is no doubt about that.
What pulls her down is the lack of energy in the execution of steps, which in fact, negates the many pluses listed above. One legged dhi dhi thais? Not acceptable. Kudithu mettu adavus without the jump? Not acceptable again. She needs to work on such aspects if she wants to remain in the reckoning.
Clear definition
The love-struck nayika in the Sankarabarnam varnam, ‘Ati Mohamkondaen’ (Adi, Ponniah) writes a letter and packs it within a lotus. It is sent to ‘Ramalingendran’ (Siva) who reads the declaration of love; the sequence of events was played out effortlessly by the dancer who gave each character, including the messenger, a clear definition.
Saint-poet Purandaradasa alternates between praising Krishna as the caretaker of the world and marvelling that Yashoda, oblivious to the truth, plays with the same Krishna treating him as a mere child in the kriti, ‘Jagadodharana’ (Kapi). While the interpretation was spot on, the visualisation was inspiring -- brief episodes of Krishna’s miracles such as the Viswaroopa darshana for Yashoda, Poothana Harana and Vamana Avatara, alternated with tender scenes between mother and child.
Krithika’s easy acting style made the switches easy. This piece proved the maturity of mother and daughter -- Radhika and Krithika.
