Bharatanatyam choreographer-teacher Anitha Guha’s 25th dance theatre production ‘Nandalala’ presented by Bharatanjali and Aim for Seva, was a high-energy chronological representation of Krishna’s life. It was an ambitious task to encapsulate 90 chapters of the 10th Canto of Srimad Bhagavatham in 105 minutes, with only 18 dancers (the U.S. tour had 14); ‘Nandalala’ had to be inclusive as well with seven languages and several dance styles such as Bharatanatyam, Kuchipudi, Kathak and folk, along with glimpses of the graceful Mohiniyattom and exaggerated expressions of Kathakali, added for good measure.
To Anitha’s credit, she managed to keep it uncomplicated, with clarity in narrative and good execution. But it was interesting to see that Anitha makes time for frills, so the production doesn’t dwindle into a linear and, therefore, boring story-telling session. This is an adaptation of the creative style of the creator of Bharatanatyam dance-dramas, Kalakshetra’s Rukmini Devi, albeit louder and more melodramatic, catering to today’s restless audience.
Offbeat ideas
Anitha’s offbeat ideas added layers to the production. ‘Nandalala’ opened with an interesting invocation, a compendium of songs in three languages (‘Vande arula vendum’, Abhogi, Oothukadu Venkatasubbier, ‘Ra ra chinnana’, Senchuruti, Annamacharya, and ‘Aayo Nandalala’, Hamsanandi, Sai bhajan) with three dancers playing Krishna and devotees, in turn. As the curtain went up, the spotlight fell on a frieze, the dancers breaking into a rhythmic sequence in an Abhogi swaram, followed by the songs, making for a musically rich introduction.
Every scene had its moments. The opening scenes were — unusual foot movements denoting the chariot bearing Kamsa, Devaki and Vasudeva, Krishna’s birth in jail with the devotional lines ‘Jaya Jaya Srinivasa’ from Narayana Thirtha in Arabhi, and Vasudeva’s journey to Gokul accompanied by the celebratory folk dance to the beats of the dhol, Krishna’s babyhood presented in three tenderly beautiful songs — ‘Gopiya Bhagayavidhu’ (Behag, Purandaradasa), ‘Lalanuchu nucheru..’ (Madhyamavati, Annamacharya) and ‘Ambadi thannil ore unni’ in Malayalam (Kedaram).
After the Poothana episode, when the infant sucks the life out of the rakshasi to the accompaniment of sound effects and melodrama, the high notes of ‘Anoraniyana..’ in the charana of ‘Jagadodharana’ (Kapi, Purandara Dasa) pierced through the drama heralding a wave of devotion that eclipsed all else. Anitha never leaves loose threads, there is always a lead up or a conclusion to buffer the narrative; giving it more punch.
Little Krishna (Jyothsna Akilan) stole everyone’s heart in the introductory ‘Gilu gilu’ jathi and the subsequent Marathi abhang ‘Dumaka dumaka bhaga’ that was recited in the ‘thakita thakita thaka’ metre. The Kalinga Narthana episode set in the melodious tunes of ‘Vrindavani Venu’ abhang in Abheri, Punnagavarali orchestration for the fight and the victory dance on the snake’s five hoods in the Oothukadu Venkatasubbaier’s Gambhiranattai thillana, was another well-developed scene, especially in the last part when each hood was represented by a dancer, Krishna’s footwork was reflected in the hoods bobbing underlying the excellent coordination amongst the dancers.
Raas Leela in Jayadeva’s ‘Chandana Charchitha’ (Mohanam) with the addition of an alaap and tarana in Hindusthani ragas for the dandiya, and the subsequent malla yudha wrestling (visualised by Thiruselvam) were head turners.
‘Nandalala’ was packaged with simple rhythm, high energy, excellent coordination and beautiful music to provide wholesome enjoyment.
Some of the experts who helped were: actor-television star Revathy Sankaran (English narration), P.R. Venkatasubramanian (music), Neyveli Santhanagopalan (Tamil lyrics and music), Dandibotla Narayana Moorthy (Telugu lyrics) and O.S.Arun, Sriranjini Santhanagopalan, Chinmaya Uma, Vignesh Iswar, R.P. Shravan (vocal), MVN Murthy (Kuchipudi guidance), Lakshmi Kannan (Kathak guidance) and Murugan (lighting design), amongst others.
