Pupils of ‘Deepanjali' for most part, put up a good show of Kuchipudi though a smaller group of dancers seemed better equipped to deal with the very crucial factor of symmetry and sync. The opening invocation Mahadeva sutam aham pranamami with seven young dancers each falling short of pace with the hasthabhinaya coming after the lyric and so on, soon gave way to Swati Tirunal's Nrityati, nrityati Sambhashivo in the vilamba kalam with jatis well laid out but slightly slow-paced in keeping with the song. A free flow of the body movements would be more welcome instead of the rigidity that does not lend an ease to expression. The dramatic elaboration at T aapa Daaranaparo Yama Muditha with the Markandeya story was well depicted.
The best was Annamacharya's Brahmam okkate (Bowli ragam) where little Sloka Reddy, who was centre stage, took the cake in graceful movements, totally in tune with the rhythm. Though the keertana was easier than the previous ones in terms of dance, the little dancer displayed an acumen and concentration that was visible to a casual observer too. The Navarasa was a brief but thoughtful piece of creativity where each rasa (artistic mood) was depicted by one artiste at a time, miming to the corresponding raga. The challenging ‘bheebatsa' rasa needs to be handled with greater care as it does not just convey the ‘loathsome' mood as was portrayed but actually signifies utter disarray! The quartet who executed the swarajati did a fine job of well-formed jati patterns while Parama purushudu Gopala baaludainaadu which went down well with the audience was like a mini-ballet with the Dasavataram thrown in.
Deepanjali's presentation was like a thanksgiving for guru Deepika Reddy, honouring her with a swarna kankanam . The event was organised as part of veteran actor Akkineni Nageswara Rao's birthday celebrations at Ravindra Bharati.
