Shower of artistry

Ranjana Gauhar performs an Odissi production for Monsoon Fest 2018 in Thrissur

Three dance forms were presented as part of Monsoon Fest 2018, a three-day festival held in Thrissur. Mohiniyattam was conspicuous by its absence.

The festival began with Geetha Padmakumar’s Kuchipudi recital. The first two numbers, Pravesha daru of Rugmini and Aananda tandavam, served to highlight Geetha’s skill in nritta. Choreographed by her guru, Vempatti Chinnasathyam, both were noteworthy for the jatis, fast and intricate, which the dancer performed to perfection. In the Pravesha daru, the heroine introduces herself as a modest woman of gentle beauty and claims to be the flute ever in contact with the lips of Krishna, her love. The raga was Kalyani and tala, Misra Chap.

Vempatti’s choreography for Narayana Reddy’s composition

Aananda tandavam ade showcased Siva’s nritta at Chidambaram witnessed by Parvathy, Ganga, Apsaras, Gandharvas et al for which accompaniment was provided by Saraswathy, Brahma and Vishnu. Geetha could depict the mood of each character effectively, including how Ganga gets thrown away from Siva’s matted hair during his dance. The ragamalika composition was set to Adi. The denouement was exhilarating with the complex jatis reaching a crescendo.

Sita meets Hanuman

Arunachala Kavi’s

Hanumane samikku inda in Malayamarutham and Roopakam portrayed Sita in captivity in Asokavana. All the anecdotes that finally landed her in Lanka flash through her mind. She is overjoyed at the sight of Hanuman in front of her and finally hands over to him the choodamani (a jewel worn on the hair) to be given to Rama. An abhinaya piece including a number of characters, the composition brought forth Geetha’s choreographic skill as well as her histrionic abilities.

Geetha Padmakumar’s Kuchipudi recital

Geetha’s own choreography of the 24th Ashtapadi Kuru yadunandana was marvellous on account of her sublime abhinaya skills. The eight padams were vividly portrayed by her. Moreover, the music composed in ragamalika and slow tempo proved beneficial to the dancer to explore the subtleties of the padams in full. Geetha concluded the recital with a thillana in Bhoopalam, a composition of Swathi for which the charanam sahithya was by Balamuralikrishna.

On the second day of the fete, Maulik Shah and Ishira Parikh along with members of the Aanart Dance Company staged a Kathak recital. Titled VIVIDH, it embraced seven numbers, which was an attempt to demonstrate the intricacies of the dance form.

After ‘Nirvignam’ , an invocation to Ganesha, followed ‘Leela’, which portrayed the romantic overtures of Radha and Krishna. A duet by Maulik and Ishira, it failed to click because of laboured movements of the two. ‘Akaar’ , a solo by Maulik, tried to display the techniques of Thaat, Amad, Paran, Tukda, and Bani, which are unique to Kathak. It was performed to teen taal.

Sufi touch

An ambience of devotion could be successfully created in ‘Deewangee’, which was based on Sufism. It was more theatrical as the dancers entered with smoking incense pots in their hands. Kadam Parikh, Raina Parikh and Naisargo Gor exhibited amazing skill while improvising Jhap Taal of 10 beats.

Maulik Shah and Ishira Parikh along with members of the Aanart Dance Company

‘Megh’, a solo by Ishira, and ‘Splendour’, a duet by Maulik and Ishira, were the concluding numbers. But for a few attractive formations in the group shows, the recital in general left much to be desired in depicting the graceful movements and dynamic footwork characteristic of the dance form.

The festival concluded with a 55-minute dance drama ‘Chitrangada’, conceptualised and choreographed by Odissi exponent Ranjana Gauhar. The scintillating performance of her disciples apart, the leitmotif of the play had a message for women. It reminded them to serve society and not to focus on their physical charms. Ranjana has anchored her script on Tagore’s Chitra , a one-act play in English and Chitrangada in Bengali written in 1892. The production was in Odissi.

Chitraganda’s tale

It tells the story of a Manipuri princess, groomed as a warrior to protect her country, in the absence of a male heir to her father. Eventually, she falls in love with Arjuna who, however, does not reciprocate. Chitrangada feels that Arjuna’s refusal was because of her looks and appeals to Madana to grant her feminine charm at least for a year. And the two are united.

During their romantic overtures, the villagers seek the help of Chitrangada to protect them from enemies. That is when she is awakened to her bounden duty of a warrior.

Ranjana’s choreographic inventiveness, replete with exquisite dance sequences, was revealed throughout the play. Costumes were modified to suit the characters, but the transformed Chitrangada appears in the typical Odissi style.

Use of curtains to reveal her at this juncture was remarkable. Theatrical was the appearance of the inner voice that appeared as a character in the background reminiscent of Ami Chitrangada . Dance series with flowers and garlands communicated the change of seasons effectively.

Vrinda Chadha (Chitrangada) was an epitome of feminine grace while Vinod Bachan’s (Arjuna) tall figure suited the character of Arjuna. The voiceover in English was taken from the original play and so were the songs in Bengali. How far lighting was quintessential for evoking the varied moods in a play was evident in this performance. The annual festival was organised by Navaneetham Cultural Trust.