Vani Ganapthy is a product of the Sree Raja Rajeshwari Bharatanatya Kalamandir, Mumbai, and has been groomed by gurus Kuppiah Pillai, Mahalinga Pillai and Kalyanasundaram. She was also trained by guru Kalanidhi Narayan, an abhinaya-expert. She is currently working with noted dancers Bragha Bessell and A. Lakshman, who augment and embellish her choreographies.
Vani’s recital was memorable for two things – for the excellence of the orchestra from Bangalore and for the sporadic patches of brilliance from the dancer that evening.
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Vani’s costume in cheerful colours of green, purple, pink and gold, accentuated her youthful looks and her trim image that could well be the envy of teenagers. Her timing is intuitive and the azhutham is strong and clear. She has a mobile face that lights up with emotion easily, when she is involved.
The best in Vani’s recital was the Oothukkadu Venkata Subbaiyar padam, ‘Vishamakara Kannan’ (Chenjurutti, Adi) where the gopi’s description of Krishna’s pranks came across with the right amount of exasperation and warmth. It showed just how well she could visualise the prankster’s mischief and how she could induce laughter by the simple narration.
In contrast, the Thanjavur Quartet Khamas varnam, ‘Samiyai Azhaithu Vadi’ (Adi) presented a self-conscious Vani, whose only focus was to get the steps right. There was no involvement whatsoever in many of the sahitya passages except one instance where the heroine relives a romantic time with Lord Sundareshwara of Madurai, set to a beautiful musical interlude. One heard later that it was a recast version of a ‘Thanjavur-style original.'
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An unfortunate stumble over a feedback monitor in the wings cut short Vani’s recital, but she was particular about performing the thillana (Hamsanandi, Adi, G.N.Balasubramaniam) that she had choreographed. Her excellent timing and azhutham saw her through the testing jugalbandhi where the dancer’s korvais alternated with the mridangam (S.Lingaraju) and the cymbal (Kasturi Pulakesi) beats.
The Bangalore-based dancer had brought her orchestra from her home-town. The distinguished orchestra also had Balasubramaniya Sharma (vocal), K.S. Jayaram (flute), Ganesh Kumar (violin) and D.V. Prasanna Kumar (morsing, rhythm pad, ganjira).
About Vani Ganapathy
It’s all in the past but cannot be denied - Vani Ganapathy was Ms.Teen Princess, India, and first runner-up to the Ms. World Teen Princess in 1970. She joined the ‘glamorous elite’ of the country with it, a tag that she has carried ever since. But dance, particularly Bharatanatyam, was her first love. Since the age of four she has been dancing with the support of her mother, Indu Bala Ganapthy, who used to sing for her recitals until her death a few years ago. Today she is a performing artist who also teaches part-time to select students. She has an interest in Interior Decoration as well.
And how does she keep herself looking so young? She pooh-poohs the suggestion at first... “Yes, I dance thrice a week, exercise thrice a week, and of course I need to be a bit careful with my food,” she finally admits. She perhaps forgot to mention that a friendly and positive disposition also keeps the mind and body young!