The annual Swathi Thirunal fest took off to a start with a dance collage both in terms of genre and presentation styles. The solos are always stronger than groups going by class versus popularity factor and so was Vasudevan Iyengar’s varnam in Bharatanatyam set to Shudda Saveri raga. It had to be a Swati Tirunal composition going by the occasion and the ace dancer chose “Jagadeesha, Sri Ganesha” a rare one at that. His style is marked by clarity in mime (hasta mudra), virtuosity in nritta and corresponding expression, spontaneous creativity that can expand and enlarge the canvas on which he proposes to work thereby making for a better understanding for the audience and a brisk execution that is most desirable in a male artiste and in this case in keeping with Vasudevan’s physique. The element of grace is not lacking but is apparent as and when called for in the course of the theme.
Within the varnam which is based on the glory of Lord Ananta Padmanabha, ruling deity of Kerala, the dancer weaved as many instances to extol the Lord which gave us a glimpse of the magnitude of His omniscience. The exploration of Dashavatar with artistic lucidity is an instance in this case. Though it was a terse delineation, the Varaha avatar where the Lord as an animal bears the earth and rescues it was presented with vivid expression as was the story of child Prahlad, a Vishnu devotee who challenged his demonic father by invoking the Narasimha avatar.
Improvement in story
In the latter, Vasudevan adopted the style of mime and movement to pure music (the beat of the percussion — mridangam) which enhanced the story-telling. Similarly his depiction of the divine eagle (Garuda) was so effortlessly natural that we quite forgot it was a human miming the mythical bird! The serpent and the serpentine causeway of the Sushumna nadi (the psychological nerve) was blended in a marvellous manner to convey the rising of the spiritual quest within a human body. The artiste brought out the subtle nuances of every single line of the song making for a rich experience to both the audience and to himself. On the technical front, his nritta was markedly pure in style and the variations he applied to just repeated refrain (sangathi) through hasth abhinaya (artistic gesticulations) were many and myriad — a testimonial to his prowess as a creative artiste. No single expression got repeated in terms of footwork or gesticulation even if it was showcased at least 10 times and this goes without saying that the artiste is not just a showman but has seriously internalised his art. The live orchestra was an asset to this sterling dancer who is carrying his guru Vyjayanthimala’s mantle and is making a mark in the present world of Bharatanatyam.
Multiple emotions
The leisurely, languid style of Mohiniattam came alive in Smitha Rajan’s dance whose hallmark was her expressive eyes and mobile countenance that could convey just about any feeling from bhakti to romance to valour and so on. She danced like a swan to “Paripalaya Sri Padmanabha...” with an abhinaya that was very touching at the line, “Sharanagatha...” Swaying to the original style of this genre unlike the present day artistes who have made it slightly fast-track and nritta-oriented to cater to varied audiences who generally do not understand the nuances of this style, Smitha in her gold and off-white costume and gold jewellery looked every bit as enchanting as a “Mohini”.
Smitha Rajan
“Sammohanam”, a group choreography blending five classical dance styles had Ambili Menon doing the Mohiniattam, Shreyasi Gopinath showcasing her Bharatanatyam, Ranjani Nair in Kuchipudi format, Vinod Kevin Bacchan donning the Odissi mantle and Yamika Mahesh in Kathak expounding the famed “Bhavayami Raghuramam”, a lovely composition that brings out the entire story of Ramayana within its varying raga and verses (charana). There was much to be desired from all these young artistes in terms of nritta and nritya despite such a glorious song and the saving grace was the vocalist and the orchestra who breathed life into the kriti. The festival under the aegis of International Academy of Mohiniattam curated by Dr. Jayaprabha Menon was staged at India Habitat Centre.
