The city buzzes with cultural activities during Navaratri.
At the Fine Arts Society, Chembur, the ‘golu’ displayed at Jayalakshmi Ramachandran Hall was an allure. Besides invited artistes, their students too performed on the occasion.
On the Saptami day, disciples of Lata Surendra presented ‘Ya Devi,’ an ode to womanhood, in Bharatanatyam style. Conceived and choreographed by Lata and music composed and rendered by N.N. Sivaprasad, the orchestra team had K. Dakshinamurthy Pillai on the mridangam, Sharma on the violin and Nandakumar on the flute.
Devi as Mahakali, was the essence of the alarippu in Misra jathi Triputa talam. Devi as the epicenter of all creation and symmetry, unfolded in the ornate varnam in ragam Kalyani, Adi talam.
Her dynamism was depicted in Ranjanimala with a final gathering in the power-packed Dhanashree thillana, portraying the five variations of rhythms. Interesting choreography and disciplined training by Lata, who also wielded the cymbals and did the compering, came through in the neat rendition by the dancers.
“On a universal realm, Devi’s duality as the merciless and merciful, makes her the aligner and allayer of all oddities, while on a particular realm, her every essence and ‘ism’ is reflected in every woman who defines all that she symbolises and represents,” said Lata.
Tribute to Vaggeyakaras
The next day was slotted for Sailaja Desai’s Kuchipudi Nrutya Maalika, a tribute to the Vaggeyakaras whose compositions have enhanced the repertoire of Kuchipudi. A lively invocation to Ganapati composed by Balamuralikrishna in Arabhi, Adi talam, presented by disciples Sindhuja Desai and Vanessa Fatnani, set the pace.
The following ‘Mandodari Shabdam,’ written and composed by C.R. Acharya, began with commendation of Krishnadevaraya, under whose rule art and culture flourished. The dancers followed it up with a narrative of how Ravana fell in love with Mandodari, thinking her to be Hymavathi. The shabdam was set in Ragamalika, the main ragam being Mohanam.
Dramatic poetry
‘Neelamegha Sareera,’ from Sri Krishna Leela Tarangini, a unique combination of narrative and dramatic poetry with dialogue, action, dance and music composed by Narayana Tirtha came next. This Tarangam in Mohanam was performed by Sailaja and daughter-disciple Sindhuja with rhythmic precision and grace on the edges of a brass plate. ‘Namassivayate,’ in Dhanyasi set to Adi talam, the opening song of Munipalle Subramanya kavi’s ‘Adhyatma Ramayana Keertanams,’ was presented by Vanessa Fatnani.
Annamacharya’s ‘Oka Pari’ in ragam Kharaharapriya showcased the beauty of Alamelumanga, the union of the goddess with Lord Venkateswara so akin to the union of lightening and black cloud.
‘Bhamakalapam,’ dance drama composed by Siddhendra Yogi was a solo by Sailaja. Satyabhama, suffering the pangs of separation from Krishna, sends her sakhi, Madhavi to bring him to her. In tune with Durgashtami, the concluding piece ‘Jaya jaya Vaishnavi Durge’ in Arabhi, beseeched the blessings of the goddess.
Just across in the same suburb at the Ahobila Mutt temple, students of Sri Sai Patham spearheaded by Aishwarya Manohar, presented a lively Pushpanjali followed by Mooshika Vahana and Ganesha kavuthuvam.
‘Sri Chakraraja’ and Periyazhwar’s ‘Pallandu Pallandu’ were presented solo by Aishwarya with grace and devotion. The doll dance and Krishna bhajan by tiny tots elicited applause.
At the Powai Sarvajanik Durgotsav, the Dhamsha Madol performances added vibrancy. Odissi dancer Leesa Mohanty, who took a six-year break after she met with an accident, is back on stage. For her performance this time, she presented Mangalacharan pushpanjali followed by an abhinaya piece ‘Muhan Muhin Kishora.’
Navaratri in Mumbai is celebrated with performing arts. Established performers and young learners perform during the festival season.
