Ragini Chandrashekar’s dance has the strengths of the Dandayudapani Pillai bani, learnt from her guru K.N. Dakshinamoorthy Pillai, and abhinaya aspects from the illustrious guru Kalanidhi Narayanan, after having trained under her mother and dancer Jamuna Krishnan and guru K.J. Govindarajan. What sets Ragini apart are her firm sense of rhythm that comes through in the adavus. In parts, however, Ragini gave a sense of going through the movements a tad mechanically.
Ragini has been performing for more than two decades and her repertoire that morning at The Music Academy gave her the edge. The morning slots at the Sabha have been full of promising dancers, and the groups of students in the audience, who had come from several cities, applauded them in delight.
Ragini began Pushpanjali with sprightly nritta passages choreographed with graceful postures and good angles. This piece (Nalinakanti, Rajkumar Bharati) in Adi tala had an interesting pattern of the Lagu in takatakita (Kanda nadai) and the Dhrutam in Chatusra Nadai.
Preceding the varnam was a sloka ‘Sarasasara Sundara’ (Neelambari, Swati Tirunal) from Mukundamala describing the majesty of Krishna. It wasn’t a good idea though to juxtapose it with the varnam, making it lengthier. Choreographed by Jamuna Krishnan with jatis composed by Karaikudi Krishnamurthy, the varnam had the nayika entreating, ‘How do I spend this moonlit night without you, Oh Padmanabha, the one with the gentle and beautiful smile?’
Ragini added sancharis delineating ‘Ahalya moksham’, where the liberated damsel washes Rama’s feet in ecstasy and gratitude. She also enacted Draupadi manasamrakshanam crisply, without long-winded descriptions.
Viraha thapa was brought forth gracefully as the nayika, who once enjoys the fragrance of the beautiful flower from the creeper, throws it away after waiting in futility for the Lord to come. Similarly, the cool moonlight scorches her as she sees no sign of Krishna. Without the adrenalin rush even in the nritta passages, everything was soaked in a mellow mood. The ending of the varnam with the Padmanabha pose was predictable.
Two more pieces followed. ‘Govardhana Giri’ (Sindhu Bhairavi, Vidyapati) was excellently choreographed by Jamuna Krishnan.This pure abhinaya piece came across well with melodious backing from the orchestra. Ragini finished with the tillana (Tilang, Lalgudi Jayaraman) rendered at a speed slower than the usual. While her core skills are strong, Ragini could do well with more spontaneity and movements that span the stage.
