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Dazzling array from all over the country
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For five days the precincts of the Chidambaram temple reverberated with the sound of dancing feet as homage was paid to Lord Nataraja. NANDINI RAMANI writes...
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"NATYANJALI AT Chidambaram is a platform of opportunities," said the Vice-Chancellor of Annamalai University in his brief address during the five-day annual festival that commenced on Maha Sivaratri. Indeed, this marathon event which will complete 25 years soon, has been encouraging innumerable dancers not only from various parts of the country but also from outside.
Mounting pressure for prime slots and endless applicants in waiting, underline the vital role of the Chidambaram Natyanjali in the promotion of dance forms. In such a situation, the Natyanjali Committee needs to take care of certain crucial needs like setting up of norms for selection of artistes; checking on basic requisites like dance lineage, the school or the bani, credentials of the teacher. This will help the authorities maintain a decent standard of performance, especially in the case of young and up and coming dancers. Such an exercise will not only help in identifying talent, but also enhance the quality of this homage at the altar of Divinity.
A welcome feature of this year's festival was that it focussed more on prominent yet younger dancers who are well established in the field along with a considerable number of junior dancers. In spite of financial stress, the committee had drawn an interesting array of dance-forms from various parts of the country to make the festival more impressive. Some of the major supporters of this annual event were ,the Central Sangeet Natak Akademi, with its secretary and dance enthusiast Jayant Kastuar extending constant help and the South Zone Cultural Centre, apart from business houses and local individual sources.
The inaugural day commenced with the performance of students of the Dance Department of Annamalai University. The major events of the evening included Deepti Omcherry Bhalla (Mohiniyattom) prior to the main inaguration, Urmila Satyanarayanan giving the inaugural performance, followed by Revathi Ramachandran with her students of Kala Sadhanalaya, solo and group presentations of the students of Neila and Satyalingam of Apsaras Arts, Singapore.
Deepti Bhalla's presentation of Dundubhi Nritya and the following description of the concept of Ardhanareeswara in the composition "Siva Siva", revealed her refined skill and mature artistryDeepti had an enriching musical support, which added to the success of her lively presentation.
Lalgudi Jayaraman's varnam on Devi Angayarkanni provided an apt base for Urmila Satyanarayanan to explore the glories of Mother Supreme and narrate them with charm and freeze into beautiful picturesque bronze like poses. However, on that evening Urmila could have avoided the lengthy theermanams.
In the group presentations of Kala Sadhanalaya, Manasvi, daughter and disciple of Revathi Ramachandran captivated the audience with her serious approach and abundant enthusiasm even at this tender age. Her sense of rhythm and impressive expressions deserve special mention. Senior students of the school, Shilpa, Arthi, and Ramya participated with commitment. Revathi's depiction of the all-pervasive Siva in the well-known number "Deena Karunakarane" and later suddha nrittam to the excellent percussive support of N. K. Kesavan were enjoyable.
Veeraraghavan, the singer, has a rich voice, much suited for dance rendition and his manodharma in repetitive technique for this format deserves praise. Saravanan on the flute provided melodious, soothing support.
Neila and Satyalingam, along with their versatile daughter, Mohana Harendran, had brought in their students from Singapore to present a couple of items. Satyalingam (vocal), Mohana (vocal and nattuvangam), Arvind (veena), Packiaraj Kannan (violin), and Govindarajulu (flute), all from the same place, were the members of the orchestra. Tevaram "Mannil Nalla", "Bho Sambho" — kriti, a tillana, and "Sri Ramachandra" (bhajan) were the numbers presented. Although all the items were performed with good co-ordination, there was more of an oriental, light classical touch in the execution. The only number, a jatiswaram performed by the child, Durga, indicated regular technical training.The number of dance schools in the towns of Tamil Nadu seems to be on the increase with more aspirants wanting to learn the art. While some of these presented a picture of hope, some others seemed to be exploring the situation. Vrinda Ramanan of Bala Kala Vidhanam from Tiruchi, trained by a traditional exponent, Pudukkottai Ranganayaki Ammal, from the glorious Pudukkottai Sivarama Nattuvanar lineage, revealed proper approach, although her students need to work a lot on the deeper aspects of anga suddham and other basic details. Among the others, Nrityalaya of Anuradha Venkatakrishna (Pratima Rao) from Neyveli, and M. S. Sarala's Kalai Koil from Karaikkudi were totally disappointing. A. Lakshman, a committed male dancer from Chennai, along with a team of spirited disciples, gave a crisp and skilful presentation. Apart from Mathura, and Pratima, two of Lakshman's Japanese students — Yuva and Seiko — were impressive. The performances of the students of Vijay Madhavan, solo by Zahir Hussain, Mathura Prasad and Mithra Prasad from Udumalpet (disciples of Pandanallur Srinivasa Pillai), Lakshmi Ramaswamy, R. Madhumati (Odissi), Vinata Charitra, Mahalakshmi, and Deepika (representing the Balasaraswati tradition) on the first two days of the festival, were noteworthy.
Teacher par excellence
Prof. C. V. Chandrasekhar always maintains with great dignity his position as a senior performer and teacher par excellence. There is always something for every dancer to learn and imbibe from him. Chandrasekhar never attempts to dilute the technique or innovate beyond the territory. At the festival, the father-daughter duo, Chandrasekhar and Manjari, danced with true dedication and a deep knowledge of the nuances. "Sankara Rudra Roopa", describing the beauty and grandeur of the form of Lord Siva, and the glory of His vibrant Damaru provided the right spirit for the stalwart to express his refined artistry. The melody, and rhythm of this song added beauty to the depiction. In "Idutano Tillai Stalam," Manjari exhibited composure and confidence in handling the intricacies of abhinaya. Deepu Nair's soulful singing deserves mention.
Kodai Narayanan, from New Delhi, presented her disciple Aparna Rajaraman in a considerably neat presentation (sans basic posture) of misram alarippu not often heard sabdam on Tillai Nataraja, "Bho Sambho" and tillana in Paras. Ilango, son of veteran Nattuvanar, Keeranur Govindaraja Pillai gave good vocal support. Rashmi Anjani (Kuchipudi) from Guntur exhibited reasonable skill, while Lavanya Raghuraman from Singapore (trained by Girish Panicker and the Dhanajayans) was promising. The students of Bhaskara School of Dhananjayans from Kerala (led by Shanta Dhananjayan), were a dedicated lot. Their group presentation of "Aen Palli Kondeer Ayya" gave an opportunity for the dancers to exhibit their talent, though briefly. Vanati Raghuraman, the main vocalist for several dancers in the festival, gave her best on every occasion including this recital. Hema Sripal, yet another vibrant dancer from Chennai, made an impact on the audience.
Yumiko Tanaka, director of Ananda Natanam School in Japan, led by Bhagavatula Sitarama Sarma, had made sincere efforts by bringing a set of her Japanese students and Angelika Sriram, a German student to offer their dance homage to the Lord. And they neatly presented a pushpanjali, tisra alarippu, a jatiswaram, "Natanamadinar" and "Simhasanasthite".
The dancers of Siddhendra Kalakshetra, guided by guru Chinta Ramanathan presented "Parama Purushudu", a beautiful portrait of Krishna and Yasoda, in Kuchipudi. However, the items were more abhinaya-oriented than focus the technical aspects of Kuchipudi.
The only Kathak recital in the series was by Jayanti Mukherji of Kolkata, who exhibited good grip in the technique of Lucknow Gharana. Manipuri Jagoi Marup from Manipur performing Pung Cholam was another major attraction of that evening. The ease and grace with which the male dancers danced while playing their drums was simply amazing.
The highlight of the festival on the fourth day was the excellent presentation of "Duryodhana Vadha" in Yakshagana by Sri Idakunji Maha Ganapati Yakshagana Mandali at Keremene, Honnavar, headed by Sri Shambhu Hegde, revivalist and Sangeet Natak Akademi Awardee. His son Shivananda Hegde is an important member of the troupe, which is made up of committed artistes.
The performers and the members of the orchestra revealed vigorous training and strength in this music-drama form of South Karnataka, essentially folk in type, yet comprising the four-fold aspect of the Sanskrit drama tradition. Shambhu Hegde played Duryodhana. The simple yet eloquent gesticulation, the vachika (speech) and the actors, adorned with colourful head dress and costumes, made the scenes very appealing.
Meenakshi Parinayam by the students of Malata Totadri of Kala Sagara, Kavita Krishnakumar (Mohiniyattom) and Rajani Saranya from Tirunelveli were some of the other interesting events. A host of other artists, seniors and juniors, aspiring teachers, vocalists, percussionists and other accompanists participated in the festival, all of whom deserve a word of appreciation for making a sincere effort.
Tastefully decorated
A. Sambandham, secretary, the key figure in the organising committee is to be credited for the stage décor this year. A striking picture of an ancient mandapam had been brought alive. An in-set sanctum sanctorum was adorned with a Kalamkari painting of Rishabharodha. The sides of the stage were covered with ivory coloured cloth and along with the traditional thoranams hung over the backdrop, created a serene atmosphere. The low-priced saris from the Tamil Nadu Co-operative Society had been used as backdrops in between the walls of the mandapam that lent charm to the entire scene. The excellent voice of Dr. Muthu of Chidamabaram who introduced the artistes and the compositions in fluent literary Tamil was a treat. As part of the festival, the Natyanjali Committee released a publication on the nattuvanars (traditional dance masters), authored by art-historian B. M. Sundaram (with financial support from Sangeet Nataka Akademi).
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