‘Krishnayanam’, a three-day cultural fete in Thrissur, was an eloquent demonstration of the classicism of art forms.
Vasundhara Doraiswamy
Bharatanatyam exponent Vasundhara Doraiswamy’s recital smacked of the inimitable traits of the Panthanellur school of the dance, embellished with her yogic feats. She opened with Mela prapti, an inspiring feat that is related to the very genesis of Suddha nritta – legend has it that it was at Siva’s insistence that this dance was tagged to the poorva ranga (traditionally staged behind the curtains) by Bharatha as depicted in the Natyasastra. The very purpose of Mela prapti is to create the right ambience for a recital and it embraces a flourish of enchanting rhythms, swaras and dance. ‘Andal kavuthum’ followed in Shanmughapriya and khanda chap. A composition of Dwarathy Krishnaswamy, it narrates the story of Andal who, out of her bhakti to Krishna, wanted to marry him. The dancer showcased her histrionic talent in the evocation of the characters in the nrithya sequences.
The Anandabhairavi varnam ‘Sakhiye, inda velayil jalam sheyyade’ followed. It was choreographed by Ponnayya Pillai of the Thanjavur quartet, the very preceptor of margam repertoire of Bharatanatyam. Vasundhara turned very much the hapless ‘virahotkhantita’ Nayika entreating to her Sakhi to go to the Nayaka, Vishnu. The delineation of the peacock to which the Nayika compares her Sakhi was bewitching. Interestingly, she came to the pallavi after beginning with the first charanam. The trikala jathis were not only prolonged but began in mukkalidam. The balance between nritta and nrithya was laudable.
Anoop Krishnan
Rasikas had the rare privilege of listening to a young musician of the 800-year-old Chintalappalli bani. The hallmark of this bani seems to be the sublimation of melody by exploring the raga. A disciple of Shreekantham Nagendra Sastry, Anoop’s rendition of Suruti varnam of Pallavi Gopala Iyer ‘Entho prematho’ heralded his musical prowess. Swaras overflowed in the Hamsadwani composition of Kavi Kunjara Bharathi, ‘Varana mukhava’ in Roopakam.
‘Nivaadane gaana’, another Tyagaraja composition in Saranga set to khanda chap, followed after which he switched over to an extensive essay of Kharaharapriya. The musician exhibited exceptional maturity in exploring the nuances of the raga with copious phrases bearing its myriad shades. A composition of Origala Viraraghava Sharma, ‘Naganadanubhava sannidhi,’ narrated the essential traits of music, which was reflected in the line he chose for niraval, ‘Laya sruti baddhamu lalithyamutho’. Sunita Harsankar extended remarkable support on the violin. Tani by Guruvayur Sanoj was in the right proportion.
A pallavi in Brindavana saranga was specially coined as a tribute to scholar Kanjur Krishnan Nambuthiripad. Beginning with ‘Hridaya kamale kalayaniratam’, it was composed in an intricate metre of 90 aksharas combining khanta jathi jhampa and khanta jathi roopakam in tisra nada. He concluded with a thillana in Hamirkalyani.
Kottakkal Narayanan
Thirteen of the choicest padams from varied attakkathas were presented in the Kathakalipadam kutcheri led by Kottakkal Narayanan. He began with ‘Padma vallabha’ of Thodayam in Natta. ‘Parameswara, paahi paahi’ in Thodi from ‘Kiratam’, the concluding number, received an exhaustive treatment. Vocal support by Vengery Narayanan, percussion accompaniment by Kottakkal Radhakrishnan (maddalam) and Kottakkal Vijayaraghavan (chenda) was in the right measure.
The programme was organised by a group of artistes, rasikas and disciples of Nambuthiripad.
