Young danseuse Achutamanasa has a striking stage presence. Expressive fluidity and elegance in footwork formed the hallmark of her Kuchipudi performance at Kalabharati Visakhapatnam recently. Endowed with an innate passion for kinetic vocabulary of dance in perfect sync with expressional élan this doe-eyed danseuse has a penchant for detailed presentation and each of the pieces in this session testified to it in full measure.
She opened the session with ‘Bho Shambho’ in praise of Lord Siva. Set to the cycle of Aditalam in raga Revathi, this immortal composition of Swamy Dayananda Saraswati sought to unveil the grace and grandeur of Lord Siva in His cosmic dance.
The strands of mythology that form the crux of the lyric are related to demon king Ravana, known for his unflinching devotion to Lord Siva. In depiction of the episode where on being denied an entry to mount Kailash, Ravana sought to lift it in a bid to get noticed by the Lord. Failing to do so,, he finally tears open his belly and plays Rudra veena by making his intestines as the strings; Manasa captured both the ecstatic and agonised mindscape of a staunch devotee letting each of lyrical nuances in the compositions find a poignant expression. Her good and precise timing in execution of intricate phrases added to its emotive appeal in fairly good measure.
Though the concert had hardly four pieces, she gave a wholesome treatment to each, giving the pleasure of watching a full-length performance in Kuchipudi idiom. Her portrayal of Navarasas was the highlight her performances. The composition for this was ‘Navarasamuladi Nalinakshi’ of Annamayya in raga Bilahari. In a warm up before the composition, she delineated diverse facets of different moods in a fleeting manner and then proceeded to present the composition. Her agility in movement and uncanny ability to shift from one mood to other in quick succession in a jiffy was remarkable. It, in a way, displayed her artistic acumen in full measure.
Then came ‘Nandanandana Gopala’, a tarangam of sage Narayanatheertha. In this piece set to tune in raga Bilahari, she excelled in delineation of the divine attributes of Lord Krishna and his childhood pranks. Portrayal of Lord Krishna or aspects of his divine play are a pleasure to any dancer and this one is no exception. She presented every bit of it with panache soaked in a devotional exuberance. She rounded off the session with a Tamil composition of Rajagopalachari tuned in ragamalika. Visakha Music and Dance Academy hosted it.
