Priyadarsini Govind, one of the most celebrated Indian Bharatanatyam dancer, cast Madurai under a spell with her evocative and elegant performance here at Thiagarajar college of Engineering (TCE) on Tuesday.
Apt for the occasion, she started with an invocation piece, a pushpanjali to Madurai’s goddess Meenakshi. A firm regal posture accompanied by fluid gestures and expressive eyes that danced in harmony with the beats of the mridangam and the pleasant jingle from her salangai, mesmerised the audience just a few minutes into the performance.
Priyadarsini Govind is the director of Kalakshetra Foundation, Chennai. She has performed in several prestigious venues in India and all over the world. SPIC MACAY (Society for the promotion of Indian classical music and culture amongst youth) tied up with the TCE cultural association to organise the event in an effort to take the traditional Indian dance forms to the younger generation. The show was sponsored by SRF Foundation.
Presenting the age old art form with a dash of contemporary newness, Priyadarsini also retained the authentic nuances of bharatanatyam repertoire. She danced to a Telugu number where a girl is at her home when the guy who broke her heart knocks the door. She recollects all the flattery he used to entice her and questions him about his fake promises before closing the door on his face thus turning down his efforts for reconciliation. After an era of watching the Nayaki pining for the Nayaka in the traditional choreography, the poise with which Priyadarsini portrayed a self-empowered women was a breath of fresh air that was much appreciated by the audience, evident from their roaring applause.
She then recreated Lord Krishna’s childhood with her performance for ‘VishamakaraKannan’. One moment she was the playful Krishna and the next moment she transformed into the little girl who was teased by him. The ease with she switched characters and explained the plot with abhinaya left the audience enchanted.
The entire program was interactive with Priyadarsini explaining the theme behind each performance. This made it easier for the audience to connect with the artist and the art. Answering a question from the audience on the possibility of using Bharatanatyam as a tool for spreading social messages, she said, “In the art of storytelling, Bharatanatyam is a language. It can be used to convey any desired theme.” The show ended on a patriotic note with a performance for ‘Vandemataram’.
Hari Thiagarajan, Secretary, Thiagarajar College, in his address to the gathering was full of praises for Priyadarsini Govind and the SPIC MACAY team. He added that events such as these will pass on the traditional Indian art forms to the future generations.
S.A.Aarathi, a final year EEE student at TCE, says this is the first time she witnessed a professional Bharatanatyam performance. She said, “I really loved how the dancer narrated stories with just her eyes and graceful mudras. Though my knowledge about Bharatanatyam is limited, I was able to appreciate the performance on a new level. “
Replying to a question on the growing presence of bharatanatyam dancers on the social media, she said, “The Social media has been a definite boost for creating an awareness about bharatanatyam among the common masses but at the same time the artists should maintain certain necessary decorum and appropriateness that keep the core values of the art intact while innovating it.”
