Poignant images of mother's sentiments
RUPA SRIKANTH
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Sensitive emotions and sparkling footwork marked the presentations at Bharat Kalachar.
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Photos: S. Thanthoni, R. Shivaji Rao and K. V. Srinivasan.
PRESENTED WITH POISE: Jayanthi Subramaniam,
Besides a strong grounding in the art form, Jayanthi Subramaniam's strength is her mature role-play. With an experienced flair, her liquid eyes reflected a whole spectrum of sentiments from devotion to awe to mischief to grief to wonder that evening at the Bharat Kalachar. Her repertoire naturally veered towards this expressional plane and in deference to the occasion, which was Vaikunta Ekadasi, the choice was restricted to Vaishnavite literature.
The dancer's sensitivity was best seen in Kulasekara Azhwar's Devaki Pulambal paasurams where Devaki laments over her misfortune. The pathos of an empty crib and a mother's longing to nurture her child were poignant images created by Jayanthi's easy delineation. The mood was further enhanced by the music, composed in Neelambari and Hamsanandhi ragas and soulfully rendered by Vanathi Raghuraaman. Devaki's sorrow was contrasted with Yashoda's joy in mothering Krishna despite being aware of His divinity, in a well-interpreted Purandaradasa composition, "Jagadodarana'' in Misra Kapi.
Jayanthi Subramaniam is no doubt a mature dancer as well as a sought-after teacher. Yet one questions the choice of a Ghana raga pancharatna kirtana as the mainstay of the programme. For one, it needs sound musical support and Vanathi was simply not able to do justice to ``Sadinchane" (Arabhi, Adi talam). It was Kalaiarasan on the violin who kept the melody going, non-stop.
Aadit Narayan,
The composition was peppered with sancharis on Krishna, each effectively sketched and filled in on its own, but collectively too time-consuming and a tad indulgent. A shorter, crisper version might have worked better.
The nritta passages in the Arabhi kirtana and in the Suruti tillana were executed with sincerity and clarity. The meticulous timekeeping department comprised Roja Kannan and Ashwini Viswanathan, both nattuvangam, and the ever nimble Nellai D. Kannan on the mridangam.
FIERY RHYTHM
Scintillating, vibrant, sparkling — these are some of the adjectives that come to mind when recollecting Aadit Narayan's dance recital. As sparks flew, the dancer scorched the stage with bursts of fiery rhythm, aided by willing accomplices in Kishore Mosilakanti, nattuvangam, and Haribabu, mridangam.
Cosmic rhythm permeated the devotional padavarnam in the Nattakurinji (Adi) song, "Swami Naan Undan Adimai'' composed by Papanasam Sivan. The dance of Siva took on a whole new perspective with this rhythmic explosion.
Chitra Chandrasekhar
The dancer's keen sense of timing, his angular movements and his accurate footwork did him credit even as his enthusiasm proved contagious. The pace was fairly frenetic, but that did not deter Aadit from covering the stage extensively. Vigour, however, should not come at the cost of grounded-ness that marks the dance style or at the cost of the araimandi stance. And this is something Aadit must think about.
A sense of piety enveloped the treatment of the prose. Siva's rescue of His devotee Markandeya was portrayed dramatically by the dancer and his supporting orchestra. But that was the easy part where simple role-play will do.
An ashtapadi is a different cup of tea altogether. It is perhaps an acid test for any dancer and requires some degree of internalisation and maturity. In this context, Aadit's "Priye Charusheele'' tuned in Sindhu Bhairavi ragam, Khanda Chapu talam, required more sensitivity and subtlety.
Gomathi Nayakan's baritone voice was best showcased in the traditional items like the varnam and the Behag tillana. He had the melodious support of Bhavani Prasad (veena) and Muthukumar (flute). It was an all-round commendable effort.
GITA GOVINDAM
Chitra Chandrasekhar Dasarathy traversed the entire text of Jayadeva's Gitagovinda in her presentation of the same name. The temporal love story between Radha and Krishna was brought alive through melodious music, composed by the maestro Prof. C. V. Chandrasekhar, and dignified visualisation. The choreography was especially sensitive to the mood and the text. One did occasionally miss the `going beyond' mode, but there was enough clarity and delicacy within the treatment of the poetry to keep the rasika happy.
Dressed in vibrant yet tasteful colours of orange and green in a layered lehenga, Chitra looked every inch the cowherdess from Brindavan. It was a tribute to her dramatic skill that she could as easily bring off the nayaka bhava in that feminine outfit.
Lata and Gita.
Surprisingly, it is the nayaka bhava compositions that first come to mind in the production. The most sensitive portrayals were a shame-faced Krishna in ``Mamiyam" and a truly dignified Krishna pleading for Radha's love in ``Priye charusheele." Radha's anger and hurt were captured powerfully in ``Yahi Madhava." The raas in ``Hari riha" composed in Malkauns raag would qualify as one of the best visualised.
Good music can do wonders. It can raise the level of experience altogether. And, Manasi Prasad, vocalist, did just that. Besides maintaining an excellent sruti and melody, her articulation was most commendable. It was sheer joy to listen and see such a pool of talent. Professor Chandrasekhar on the nattuvangam was the guiding light for the talented group of supporting artists consisting of T. K. Padmanabhan (violin), B. Muthukumar (flute) and Adyar Balu (mridangam).
STORY OF SAVITRI
Giving shape and form to an abstract piece of literature is a challenge that Lata and Gita Krishnaswamy undertook for their production ``Savitri." It is based on Sri Aurobindo's English poem, translated into Tamil by Dr. S. Krishnaswamy, and set to Carnatic music by Shyam Joseph.
The story of Savitri and Satyavan taken from the Mahabharata has a strong narrative element, and the dance production was no different. Savitri's story was faithfully captured in all its nuances through the fluid dramatisation and through the simple yet poetic lyrics. Lata and Gita slipped into various roles with the ease of maturity and familiarity.
But the overall visualisation was disappointing. The dancers as a duo could have exploited the visual richness of complementing each other in movement choreography or even in the role-play. There is no merit in both doing the same thing; even a simple technique as mirror imaging can cut the tedium.
There were a few instances of visual appeal as in where the voyagers lose their way in the forest, or the visual of King Asvapati taking Savitri to the forest, but they were too few and far between.
Towards the end, Savitri embarks on an inward journey to confront the reality of Satyavan's impending death. Sri Aurobindo's philosophy put into plain words came across powerfully as Savitri finds the strength to confront Yama. The confrontation too came across with clarity thanks to the translation. If only the choreography can be worked on, ``Savitri" can make much more impact.
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