Clad in an aesthetically designed costume, Uma Ramesh performed at Ragasudha hall, under the auspices of ICCR.
The centrepiece of the show was the Dhandayudhapani Pillai varnam in Nattakurinji that addresses the Lord of Seven Hills Venkateshwara. The rich visual imagery unfolded with a beautiful depiction of each element of the procession, ranging from a maddalam to a nagaswaram, cymbals and chamaram which were interspersed with the depiction of the Lord after each line.
There was great clarity in communicating the difference between the character of the nayika and her sakhi and when the heroine seeks the help of clouds, birds and animals to act as her messenger or the dancer’s portrayal of the snake slithering away from Garuda, was delightful. The nritta sequences were fast paced but an inner core of energy inherent in her infused the movements with life, and the added beauty, especially in the chittaswaram segment.
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Uma’s heightened abhinaya skills came to the fore in the diverse portrayals of Krishna in ‘Bhavayami Gopala Baalam’ and Rama in ‘Yaaro Ivar Yaaro’. She showed the activation of all the chakras in the body looking at the glorious form of the little lord, and the combination of vatsalya and bhakthi bhavas in her expressions was appealing. It was contrast from her representation of the personification of masculinity of Rama. After the depiction of Mithila and the Kanni Maadam with girls playing with a flower ball, Uma maintained her head and gaze high, right through showing Rama looking at the balcony where Sita was seen. The finishing touch, when Rama drops his arrow on the ground to use it as a ruse to look up at Sita again was appealing.
Uma Ramesh is one more addition to the array of talented dancers in Chennai.