Within the short duration slot given to her in the Aarambh series, danseuse Ramaa Venugopalan ably presented a wholesome treat from her repertoire. The varnam she took up “Moham Aginen Inda Velayil...” essentially picturises the frame of mind of the nayika (heroine) who is hopelessly in love with Lord Shiva. The entire length of the lyric runs on this emotion.
The dancer was as lithe and graceful as the lilting Karaharapriya. Her nritta (footwork) was her metier if her agility and adherence to taal as she undertook complex adavu patterns was anything to go by. The subtle swing in movement as she executed the series of jatis (mnemonic patterns), the brilliant use of stage space which left one wondering whether it was a solo at all, the perfect sync of eye and hand gestures with that of her footwork, the electrifying presence and pace made Ramaa stand out as an artiste to reckon with. Her gestural narration that took minute details into consideration brought out the creative side of the artiste. For instance, stringing the bow was done with technical perfection as were the gestures depicting Lord Shiva through emblems like the damru, the cosmic dance postures, et al were impeccable, more so as she goes through the sancharis with the damru mudra where she compares it to the nayika's heartbeat as she looks upon the bedecked form of Lord Shiva!
The footwork to “Etthugada Swara Sahityam” and ensuing expressive abhinaya more gestural than facial established her as a dancer with vivacity and verve. The varnam in Deepthi Srinath’s dulcet tones acquired another dimension altogether in Ramaa’s hands.
The Ashtapadi “Radhika Tava Virahe...” that followed and the concluding Krishna padavali seemed testimonials to the dancer’s prowess. It can be established beyond doubt that here was an artiste whose vibrant dance could make you sit up and watch. However, when it came to the emotional quotient, more so the erotic or romantic as it may be, Ramaa though expressive large eyes that could speak, would not allow the emotion to linger but would leap into a sanchari or footwork like a deer which did not allow the romantic feeling to peter down .
It was not as if the dancer was in a hurry either because at one point in the Varnam she conveyed the emotion of bhakti (devotion) with conviction but if she could allow herself to hold on to the romantic element by allowing it to sink into her through subtle, slow body movements that convey the varied shades of love, it would have added one more dimension to her absorbing performance.
The Krishna padavali (a via media between a mallari and tillana), nevertheless a unique one, where she danced with a spring in her step to just the flute. The Venu mudra and the peacock feather mudra that she alternates as she emulates Kaliya Mardhan with only her feet was fantastic. The utterances (for mnemonics) could have been avoided and the entire piece could have gone only by the flute and percussion to keep the rhythm, for it was quite fascinating!
Praveen Kumar on the nattuvangam, Srihari Rangaswamy on the mridangam and Vivek V. Krishna on the flute made for a wonderful orchestra. The show was put together by the Raza Foundation at Triveni Sangam.
Art without frontiers
Braving the chill in the air, dance aficionados who made a determined effort to be present at at the Lok Kala Manch were a fortunate lot. “Nirantar-2017” true to its title, opened up an album from the past — of the quaint, alluring choreographies of the doyen guru Kelucharan Mohapatra, a perennial flow of tradition untarnished from the guru to his pupil and onto the next generation.
A performance at “Nirantar-2017”
A bunch of Odissi aspirants trained under Sharon Lowen presented a traditional dance repertoire in twos, fours and group making for perfection in rhythm, sway in gait, striking stances reminiscent of temple frescos — in a word, quintessential Odissi nritya. Among the dance pieces presented like “Padma Patra Mangalacharan” where the three-fold salutation is the USP, it was the very unheard of (these days) Batu nritya, the Taranga Pallavi in raga Bilahari, the rarely done Ashtapadi “Lalita Lavanga Lata...”, Bansi Teji — an Odissi song that stood out as an icon of traditional Odissi repertoire.
While Ishani Bose, Arunima Ghosh, Divya Jain and Pooja Kumar invoked the Batuk Bhairav emulating musical instruments as a wake-up call to the deity in the temple, the Taranga Pallavi by senior disciples Vishwanath Mangaraj, Madhur Gupta, Nitisha Nanda and Arunima Ghosh was a sheer rhythm interlaced with the swar of the beautiful Bilahari. The footwork patterns were exquisite and as fine as filigree.
The Ashtapadi and the Odissi song took us back into the golden romantic era where love thrived in the midst of pristine nature and hence it was divine in every aspect. Other pupils like Shally Srivatsava, Amita Rana, Madhumita Sen and Arpita Banerjee danced through the Ashtapadi making it as picturesque as a tableau. Nataly Salazar Hartmann looked and danced with the expertise of a native! The Mokshya was a perfect finale to this presentation.
