It was a homecoming of sorts – a reunion of the dancers who had lit the stage 27 years ago. They were back with renewed vigour to pay homage to the memory of Leela Sekar, the founder of the Madras Chapter of the International Dance Alliance.
Titled ‘Nritya Shraddanjali,’ the recent show at Narada Gana Sabha featured the leading lights of the dance fraternity -- the emotive Chitra, the dynamic duo Shanta and Dhananjayan, the enchantress Sudharani Raghupathy, the flamboyant Lakshmi Vishwanathan, the classical couple Vasantalakshmi and Narasimhachari and the inimitable Padma Subrahmanyam.
Having sung for years for the iconic Balasaraswathi, dance became an integral part of Leela Sekar’s life. Her continued passion for the arts motivated her to start the Madras Chapter of the IDA along with T.T. Vasu. In 1986, Leela along with Padma Subrahmanyam, initiated the idea of bringing together the dancers to instil a sense of camaraderie among artists. Ever since, IDA has focussed on bringing together dancers of varied styles, young and old, in a festival that soon became their signature! She also inculcated the love for the arts in her family – daughter Uma Ganesan, son P.C. Ramakrishna, daughter-in-law Hyma and grandchildren. Looking beyond her tenure and life span, she groomed Radhika Shurajit and Revati Ramachandran to carry on the legacy of IDA.
Good things often come in small packages, and true enough, in a span of twenty minutes, each dancer led us into the world of artistic imagery with their distinct individual vocabulary.
The sequences flowed seamlessly from one to next, flowering like a Margam repertoire, which consisted of Chitra’s depiction of Thevaram verses, the charanam from the Atana Nrityopaharam by the Dhananjayans, the padam ‘Evvade’ and javali ‘Geliyay ponadhadi’ by Sudharani Raghupathy, Nachiar Tirumozhi and the javali ‘Enthadi Kuluke’ by Lakshmi Vishwanathan, a Bengali song composed by Ramprasad and ‘Leeye Parabrahmani’ of Bhartruhari’s verses from the Narasimhacharis and the fitting finale of Annamacharya’s ‘Brahmam Okate’ by Padma Subrahmanyam.
The show was not only a tribute to the founder, but also an evening which will be etched in the memories of rasikas present.
As P.C. Ramakrishna rightly summed up in his thanksgiving: “For someone who has lent his voice professionally, I find myself totally speechless.”
