The second edition of the annual programme, hosted by Kalavaahini Trust, founded by Malavika Sarukkai, was held at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan recently. The Trust, aimed at providing support to youngsters across the country, chose to feature two artistes in this year’s programme — Bharatanatyam performance by Christopher Guruswamy, the junior awardee, and an Odissi performance by Shashwati Garai Ghosh, the senior awardee.
Chirstopher Guruswamy chose to explore at length, the classic Chakravaham raga Swarajati ‘Sadaya’ composed by Thanjavur Ponniah with jatis composed by Sundaresan. This beautiful composition speaks of a devotee addressing Lord Brihadeeswara, seeking his benevolence and compassion in freeing him from the worldly bondage and attain oneness with the lord. Christopher portrayed the role of a devotee with total involvement and his descriptions of the Lord and His mighty form were impressive. The comparison of the lotus blooming under the light of the sun with himself in the divine radiance of the lord; the depiction of the flowing waters of maya that haunts him; the process of the seed falling on the ground, slowly growing to be a tree and blooming of the flowers, which then falls on a sivalinga, suggestively highlighting the cycle of life were some sancharis portrayed and these were some moments of sensitive abhinaya.
The increase in the kalapramanam in the charana swaras livened up the proceedings. Chirstopher’s nritta sequences were full of pirouttes, and the fast-paced hastha and foot movements led to a feeling of hyperactivity. The dancer needs to slow down and infuse some grace in them. This would not only enhance the appeal of the dance but also effectively convey the mood of the song.
Chennai, 05/03/2018 : Shashwati Garai Gosh rendering Odissi recital during the Kalavaahini project held in Chennai on Saturday. Photo : S. R. Raghunathan
Murli Parthasarathy’s rendering of this swarajathi captured the angst of a devotee . Kartik Ramanathan on the mridangam, Anantanarayanan on the violin, Anirudh on the flute and Sai Sudarshini weiding the cymbals Shashwati Garai Ghosh made a strong impression on the Chennai rasikas with her presentation titled ‘Dhwani’, a collage of rhythm, melody and movement. “I create Dhwani and Dhwani creates me,” said the dancer.
Shashwati had choreographed the piece based on the Odissi repertoire and wove the sounds of musical instruments into it. She depicted how the sound of the flute fills her mind with excitement, the manjira shows her internal and external state of being and how rhythm inspires her body movement. The interplay of narration and judicious use of music and light design (Ramesh Chandra Jena) held the interest of the audience, but each segment was stretched a little too long, sometimes with repetitive movements and ideas. Editing to reduce the length would help ‘Dhwani’ get the right applause.
The main asset of this production is the brilliant musical scoreby young musician Srijan Chatterjee, which enhanced the visual appeal of the dance manifold.
Bijay Kumar Barik — rhythm composition, Nivedita Bhattacharya — script and narration, Srijan Chatterjee and Rupak Kumar Parida — vocal support, Sowmyajyoti Ghosh — flute, Subhash Bose — sitar and M. Simadri Rao — muhuri and odissi flute were a part of the musical ensemble.
