Janaki Rangarajan started her performance with an invocation to Gajasamharamurthy, from which she moved into Harinarayana Kavuthuvam that delineates the ten incarnations of Vishnu.
A disciple of Madhavi Chandrashekhar and Padma Subrahmanyam, Janaki runs her own dance school in the U.S. She has evolved a style that incorporates some of Padma’s signature moves but also surprises the viewer in parts with the almost military forcefulness of some of her movements. She has remarkably deep araimandi stances and is light on her feet.
She chose the Swarajati in Useni, ‘E mayalaadi,’ as the main item that provided plenty of scope for both nritta and nritya and the choreography took in both aspects. The theermanams were brisk, with interesting arudis and there were ‘nadai’ variations in the charanam, accompanied with a fine rapport by the father-daughter duo (SSR Krishnan on the mridangam and Jayshree Ramnath with the nattuvangam). The sancharis were clear and detailed, although Janaki’s abhinaya skipped words in the charanam in order to keep it unhurried.
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‘Mogudochi Pilachedi’ described the sorrowful parting of the heroine from Krishna, in order to accompany her husband who had come to claim her. The choreography depicted the innocence of the little girl at the time of her marriage, too young to realise its significance.
‘Vishamakara Kannan’ brought in a change of pace and some spontaneity, with its description of young Krishna’s pranks. Janaki effectively brought out the gopi’s frustration with the naughty Krishna.
Janaki concluded her performance, an enjoyable one on the whole, with a sparkling Poornachandrika tillana. She had excellent vocal support from G. Srikanth. Vijayraghavan, who played the violin, effectively created beautiful settings for the songs with his introductory alapanas.
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