The liveliness and precision of the Kalakshetra style of dance came to the fore in Sruthy Jayan’s Bharatnatyam performance in Kochi. While her technique was neat and captivating, the choreography for the whole performance was splendidly balanced. A nimble alarippu was followed by an invocation to the elephant god, in Ganapati talam.
The main item that Sruthy presented was ‘Shivatandava stotram’, believed to have been written by Ravana, set to the intricate Panchachaamara Chhanda of alternating short and long syllables in a tricky meter. The piece had ample scope for pure dance and abhinaya. Sruthy dynamically depicted the fierce yet beautiful image of Shiva with his locks of hair, the tiger skin worn by him, the flow of the Ganges from his crown and so on.
Sruthy Jayan did justice to the portrayal of the arrogant Ravana who defies Nandi and moves to Kailasa. She depicted the pride of the king and his playfulness as he juggles with the mountain. The dancer’s ability to act manifested as she portrayed the demon king’s anguish as his hands were crushed when Lord Shiva pressed down his foot on the mountain. Especially notable was the fact that the alliterative and onomatopoeic phrases in the text were given equivalent charismatic expression of movements. While the dancer executed the obvious with brilliance, she overlooked the nuances, as in her sanchari involving Kama and Shiva.
An able music ensemble supported Sruthy, and Charudutt who played the mridangam deserves special mention for the clarity and vigour with which he elevated the rhythmic purport of the concert.
The Swati Tirunal padam ‘Mullapoo Malaramban’ saw the dancer bringing to life a heroine who is troubled by her separation from her love, Lord Padmanabha. She remembers her many escapades with him and she describes the scorching effect of the moonlight on her. The dancer in her slow, deliberate movements, gaze and expressions etched the plight of the nayika and this had an evocative effect on the audience.
Her foray into abhinaya took a pleasant turn in her depiction of ‘vatsalya’ in describing Lord Rama as a toddler, his looks and his pranks in Tulsidas’ ‘Thumak chalat Ramachandra’. The dancer transported the audience to the poet’s own blissful state (‘Tulsidas ati anand, tan man dhan vaari) as she described the child.
Sruthy concluded with a remarkable performance of Balamuralikrishna’s ‘Jayaragamalika’.
The programme was organised by Bank Employees’ Arts Movement (BEAME).
