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Crisp and confident
Dhivya Subramanian... inspired varnam.
SOMETIMES, ONE goes to a dance recital with great trepidation - one does not know what to expect. On January 3, at the Nungambakkam Cultural Academy with the season on the wane, one was not disappointed. It was the recital of Sulakshana Jayaraman, an artiste who makes an appearance now and then thanks to her father, whose job takes him across the country.
Good stances, a steadiness that comes from innate confidence and movements that were most unfussy and shorn of frills and fancies, made pleasant viewing. When the curtain opened to her first number - a Pushpanjali in Nattai, Adi, followed in quick succession by the Alarippu - there must have been just ten people in the audience. But the artiste bravely went on to warm up to a good recital and made it a rather worthwhile evening.
While you could call the opening numbers pass, Sulakshana proved her mettle with the Shivakama Sundari in Jaganmohini, where the consort of Siva is described. Set to Rupakam, the piece had an ethereal quality to it. The vocalist, Aravindakshan, normally a good singer was not at his best - as the sporadic off-key notes jarred on the senses that were keyed up to appreciate the devotional number. In a maroon and green costume Sulakshana's nritta in this number was restricted to a steady pace that gave evidence of her crisp adavus. The Varnam in Todi, Adi, and a Thanjavur Quartet composition, pretty much followed the same feel - of good movements and stances. If the passion was missing in the bhava, there was compensation in terms of the footwork. However it was in the ``Asai Mugam" in Ragamalika, talam Adi that her abhinaya blossomed. Alas, how can I forget the face of my beloved? Is it possible for the bee to forget the honey in the flowers?'' It was restrained, but full of feeling.
Accompanying her on the mridangam was Shankaran, on the violin, Nagarajan, on the flute, Bhagyalakshmi and on the nattuvangam Narendra Kumar who was rather subdued that day.
Sulakshana... good stances.
Promising
Bright and enthusiastic, Dhivya Subramanian gave evidence of her good training with each item on January 7 at the Nungambakkam Cultural Academy. It was evident that she needed time to warm up and get her bearings comfortably as the recital progressed. So while the Mallari in Gambheera Natai and the devotional in praise of Ganesha in Sriranjani, a Papanasam Sivan composition was perhaps a bit uninspired the Varnam found her at her best. which had her giving her best. The Swati Tirunal piece - in Misra Kapi, talam Rupakam, was notable for its neat adavus and very promising nritta. While Dhivya may need to work more on her basic posture of the araimandi, the varnam was more a display of her grip over the footwork than bhava. But that is not to say that she does not have the potential - there were several glimpses of what she is capable of. And that was shown in the Javali in Poorvikalyani, talam Adi.
In fact, in this piece her mature handling of the khandita nayika completely belied her age The Neelambari item, Sringara Lahiri preceded by a sloka from the Shyamala Dandakam, composed by Lingaraja Urs was competently done- Dhivya exerted control over her movements - and it was a good blend of nritta and bhava. The padam in Mayamalavagowla in talam Adi dedicated to Lord Nataraja of Chidambaram was an example of the joyous exposition of the dancing Lord and the artiste by now was fully in control. Accompanying her on the vocals was Shobhana who did a better job than what one saw on a previous occasion- but she has a lack lustre quality to her singing, which she must do something about. Revathi Ramachandran on the nattuvangam was competent while Kesavan on the mridangam and Seetharama Sharma on the violin were adequate.
CHITRA MAHESH
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