Young chemical engineer Sarvani Yadavalli from Chennai started learning Kuchipudi at the age of five from Sri Rajaram and later went to the Kuchipudi village to train under Vedantam Radheyshyam, Seetha Nagajothy and did her rangapravesam under Dr. Sobha Naidu. This BITS, Pilani topper has performed across the world and has received several awards such as the Nritya Shiromani, Nritya Bharathi, Nritya Vilasini and Natya Mayuri.
Sarvani recently presented ‘Nishanta’ at the Satyajit Ray auditorium, Kolkata, under the Horizon series of ICCR Kolkata. She chose three pieces choreographed by her guru Sobha Naidu.
She began with an anecdote from Mahakavi Kalidas’ life and danced to a sloka from his work, ‘Shyamala Dandakam,’ followed by ‘Mamavatu Sri Saraswati,’ a composition of Mysore Vasudevachar in Hindolam (Adi tala). Her abhinaya and nritta proved her sound training.She drew from the Pravesa Daruvu tradition for the Annamacharya kirtana ‘Vachenu Alamelumanga’ that described the qualities of Goddess Alamelumanga. The piece stood out for Sarvani’s mature artistry and the fine orchestral support. Another segment that showcased her abhinaya prowess was the portrayal of the navarasas (Ragamalika, Adi tala) based on episodes from Bhagvatham. The Krishna-Radha love for Sringara Rasa; baby Krishna’s mischiefs for Hasya Rasa; the Kubja episode highlighted Karuna; Krishna in Geetopadesham displayed Roudra; defeat of Chanura as Veer Rasa; Kamsa’s fear of being killed by Krishna as Bhayanaka Rasa; the disgust experienced by Krishna after seeing the downfall of Yadavas for Bheebatsa Rasa and Kalinga Nartanam showed Adbhuta Rasa.
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Some portions of this piece didn’t stand out because of predictable expressions and movements.
Sarvani concluded with the Tarangam ‘Nanda Nandana Gopala,’ by Saint Narayana Tirtha, set to Ragamalika and Adi tala. The episode of Krishna lifting the Govardhana mountain to protect the people of Brindavan from Indra’s wrath was performed with confidence.
The piece came alive with its vibrant jatis and Sarvani’s dancing on the brass plate to ‘Gopimanmatha Goparipalaka Govardhanadhara Gopala’ and ‘Rasamandala Nata Rasajanardana Gopala’.
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How did you balance your dancing with your professional training?
I believe both education and dance complement each other. Luckily, my dance training started when I was young and it continued without any break for ten years. In these ten years, I have got vigorous training from my gurus in a very traditional guru-sishya parampara style. Solid foundation was laid and I started touring along with my guru portraying different characters in dance dramas which not only taught me dance but also made me quite independent looking life through a different lens. After graduating as the best outgoing student in chemical engineering from BITS, Pilani, I took up a job and dancing career simultaneously. I wanted to devote full time to dancing at one point of time and I quit my job to take dance full time. So at every point of life, I didn’t want either my studies/career or dance to suffer. I prioritise and make sure whatever I am doing is done well. Dance teaches a lot of focus and concentration, it teaches life skills and putting up a show is a big project. It teaches lot of business development, cross cultural management, negotiation, managerial skills which are quite helpful in my job as well.
The popularity of Kuchipudi is suffering .What are your views?
Kuchipudi as a dance form has undergone lot of transition. I feel more awareness need to be created in the audience on the beauty of the art form as even today most of the people don’t know the difference between Bharatanatyam and Kuchipudi. There are wonderful dancers in this field and I feel these dancers should perform more often and spread the beauty. The institutions, gurus as well as the students should make sure that they spend enough time to absorb the art form and know it thoroughly before presenting it to the world. This will avoid the misinterpretations on the art form. Serious training from gurus and dedication from the students is required to present the art in its true form and only then can the audience enjoy the beauty of Kuchipudi .