Display of emotions through art is by no means an easy task. Individual virtuosity apart, the dance forms per se are either restrictive or compliant to body kinetics which allows facial expressions and gestures to convey an emotion through the medium. These elements determine what is termed as abhinaya . The two-day Monsoon Festival of Dance at India International Centre capturing ‘expressions of abhinaya in classical dance,’ saw four senior dancers from four different streams perform in solo a cluster of chosen pieces to enlighten the audience with the abhinaya aspect of dance.
Depicting passion
Of all the artistic moods (rasa), passion is the most difficult to emote as it requires sensitivity along with a ‘let go’ attitude in the dancer as far as movements are concerned so that the emotion comes out naturally and convincingly. Kathak maestro Prerana Shrimali chose to delve into footwork combined with minutiae of imagery to depict the love of Radha and Shyam. For instance, dusting away the sprinkled waters from the dress and showing the divine couple as two parts of the same countenance. For the seasonal changes from Spring to Monsoon (Basant to Barsat), she displayed the churning process of butter in accelerating cycles, diligently gathering the butter post churning, taking care to lock the door of the threshold before going out with her pot and finally the dance of the peacock in joy at the onset of rain.
Rama Vaidyanathan
Rama Vaidyanathan categorised her Shringara rasa into devotion and romance through Abhang, with verses from Kambar Ramayanam, Padam and Javali. Her sevaka (dasya) bhakti in the Abhang was very convincing and upheld her virtuosity. Like Prerana, Rama too made use of the imagery of household chores to drive home her point. So was her portrayal of a crest-fallen Ravana – repentance writ all over even in gait which the dancer brought out with convincing demeanour. In the Padam and Javali, a little more body language to convey the romantic passion (shringara) was required, though she substituted the emotion with mudra and dance which was in keeping with the tradition of pure Bharatanatyam.
With these two senior artistes, it is evident that their respective mediums don’t allow extraneous body movements to convey an emotion. With Prerana, one could sense a self-imposed restraint that was wary of ‘out-of-the-box’ acting. However, unless the artiste lets go of the strict boundaries of classicism, chances are that the abhinaya will remain confined to the stage and doesn’t peter down to the audience to create the necessary rasa (response).
In striking contrast, both Vilasini Natyam and Odissi have the inbuilt flexibility for the artiste to take liberties with the medium while remaining within its framework.
Vilasini natyam danseuse Purvadhanashree explored this to her fullest advantage and the result was spontaneous expressions of a gamut of romantic moods with an unseen control that didn’t allow it to spill over into the vulgar territory, and yet the dancer seemed completely ‘involved’ in the bhava . Right from draping a sari around herself as the nayika of the song to the suppressed laughter that flows from the eyes but refuses to cross the lips, Purvadhanashree was true to the Devadasi tradition that allows for virtuosity rather than footwork to create the emotional response in the onlookers.
The Bruhi mukundeti, a Sadashiva Brahmendra keertana in Kurinji was a disappointment. The artiste seemed to go with the rhythm of the raga rather than explore the profound content of the song, and could not convey the spiritual connotation.
Madhavi Mudgal chose apt and rare pieces to showcase her abhinaya, which were a treat to the audience. Her opening statement with verse from Abhinaya Darpana eulogising the sacred space called stage was impressive. The Kalahantarita nayika (Radha) portrayal seemed to delve on the vanity of the nayika – her narcissism rather than on the repentance of having quarrelled with her beloved Krsna!
Balancing act
The Surdas composition where Radha suffers the pangs of separation as Krsna leaves Vrindavan for good was excellently worked out both on the dance and expression front, with disbelief and hope writ on the artiste’s countenance in keeping with the song. Madhavi Mudgal’s picturising of an agonised nayika walking back and forth as she is all decked up in her home as if awaiting her beloved and yet unable to forgive him was an excellent piece of abhinaya. The gestures conveyed myriad emotions – from questioning to mistrust to sadness at being deceitful. The live orchestra for the dances complimented the performances.
