Poetic touches aplenty characterised the kaleidoscope of movements and swaras in the vivid and aesthetic Bharatanatyam performance of Alarmel Valli, on the opening day of Yaksha, the music and dance festival of Isha Foundation, held against the backdrop of the Linga Bhairavi shrine at Isha Yoga Centre, Coimbatore. The Hindu is the media partner of the event, which is on till February 19.
Valli's performance was a reflection of the Isha Foundation's dynamic outlook towards everything, be it philosophy, life or arts. Her invocation to Shakti and the prayer to Devi, displaying the transition from the sensual to the sublime (eulogised in Devimahathmyam) to lead a harmonious life, with verses drawn from Sakunthala, Ritusamhara, the forces of Nature depicted by Bharatiar and Ilango Adigal, culminating with a prayer to Goddess Durga, provided a springboard for bhakti as the prime mood over her disciplined nritta.
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Her bright and simple costume was apt to the theme. The verse from Purananooru presented as nrithyalahari in Rasikapriya, set to complex patterns and nadais with well-balanced pirouettes of the artist, won wide acclaim from the dance buffs.
In the last number, Alarmel Valli excelled in her depiction of an ironic look at a waiting woman in Arundhati Subramaniam's poem, Vigil, with a visual and melodic dimension. Sanchari bhavas were the highlight of the recital.