The eighth edition of ‘Isai Amudham’ of Tirupur Shanmukhananda Sangeetha Sabha held at Velayudhaswamy Kalyana Mandapam presented itself with greater beauty this year with the addition of dance dramas and Odissi performances.
The eight-day festival began with the nagaswaram recital by Thanjavur Nagarajan. The throbbing fusion music by Rajhesh Vaidhya and party enthralled the audience with a good number of delectable compositions.
Carefully blendedADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Krishna's childhood antics have always been an inexhaustible source of inspiration for composers and dancers alike. ‘Krishna Leela', the Bharatanatyam presentation by Sudha Vijayakumar (Nritya Sudha, Chennai) had its peculiar charm with its creative choreography, impressive abhinaya, fast-paced footwork and colourful costume. Some of the well-known slokas from ‘Madhurashtakam' and other compositions were carefully blended to form a storyline for their programme.
Sudha had beautifully exploited the possibilities for picturesque depiction from ‘Oruthi Maganai Pirandhu' (Tiruppavai), ‘Krishna Nee Begane Baaro' and ‘Theeratha Vilaiyattuppillai.' ‘Thaye Yasodha,' the poplular composition of Oothukkaadu, is usually presented as a series of complaints from the gopis. Sudha made it appear like a trial scene.
The gopis register the complaint with a stanza from ‘Thaye Yashodha' and Krishna denies the allegations one by one with logical arguments from ‘Illai, Illai, Illaiyamma' (also by Oothukkadu). Eventually, Yashodha is convinced that her darling son is innocent and drives the gopis away saying, ‘Pesaadhe Pongaladi.'
ADVERTISEMENT
Sudha Vijayakumar concluded her programme with intense portrayals of Dasavataram for ‘Pralaya Payodhi Jale' (Jayadeva). V. Venugopal gave excellent vocal support with his majestic voice while Gajendra Ganesan on the mridangam, M.S. Kannan on the violin and Srinivasan on the flute added strength to the orchestra.
The Ganesh-Kumaresh violin duet offered immense joy to the listeners as they added freshness and speed to their mellifluous music. Patri Satish Kumar's vivacious mridangam added magic to it.
Himaja Ramsharan's ‘Shakti Prabhavam' depicting the three goddesses – Lakshmi, Saraswathi and Parvathi – was spectacular. She had used relevant episodes from the puranas and lives of devotees and made them appealing with her interesting choreography. The team work by the students was admirable.