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Nothing indeterminate about the dance
LEELA VENKATARAMAN
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Bharatanatyam by Nartaki Nataraj and Rani Khanam’s Kathak touched the heart in their own ways.
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FULL OF POISE Nartaki Nataraj
A person belonging to the third sex is how dancer Nartaki Nataraj is introduced. But there is nothing in the least indeterminate about the dance, which in the true vintage of 16 years spent in gurukulavasam with the late Guru Kittappa Pillai, a dire
ct descendent of the Tanjore Quartet, comprises undiluted tradition at its uncompromising best. A handful of persons in the very thin audience at Stein auditorium understood the rare quality of Nartaki’s interpretation of the Kalyani varnam “Sarasijashulu”, the painstakingly vilambit irandu-kalai laya tutness (kalapramanam) maintained over a 50-minute period, enough to test the mettle of the best dancer. Not a unit of movement went outside the orthodox vocabulary in the nritta passages, the crisp tricky teermanams where the recited rhythmic syllables, seemingly chiming with the movements in fractional arrangements, very difficult to keep to tala –– hallmark of the Kittappa genius.
If this was impeccably handled by Nartaki, words fail to describe the searing intensity of the shringara, wherein the nayika addressing “Dakshina Dwaraka Vasi” Krishna is jealous of the intimacy shared by all his accoutrements like the flute, ‘pitambar’ his hugging body, shankh and chakra held in his hands. “If only I could be that close,” feels the nayika. The suggestive abhinaya communicating the throbbing message reached a crescendo in the final musical statement, the smitten devotee offering herself to the Lord.
Another rare item was the navasandhi kavutvam, a specialty of this Bharatanatyam school, and the Cosmic dance epiphany, wherein the five elements and the four Vedas dance to the rhythms of Nataraja. After the enormity of the varnam, the kavadichindu evoked a popular flavour in the folksy lilt. The javali “Samayamide Ra Ra Swami” in Behag overdid the parents-in-law nuisance, cutting into time spent with the lover. The musical support was adequate.
Divya Kasturi
Yet another Kalaimamani, Divya Kasturi, a disciple of Udipi Lakshminarayana performing at Tamil Sangam’s Tiruvalluvar auditorium to taped music, based the recital on a suite of Tamil compositions. Following a long nritta prelude, came the patriotic curtain-raiser “Edutta kariyam yavinum verri” ringing with the determination to accomplish any feat embarked upon. But as in most such poetry, including the ragamalika centrepiece on the Devi, “born in the mountains (Parvati) and consort of Siva”, the wordy nature of the song has the dancer running after the words with an overdose of gestures, and without sufficient spaces between words for weaving improvisatory passages or dilating on a musical line, as found in lyrics composed for dance.
So despite Divya’s sound technique and rhythm, there were no lingering images imprinted on the mind. Bharatiyar’s “Dikkugal ettum shidari” and Annamaiyya’s “Brahmam Okate” were in the same non-reposeful vein. The tillana in Maand lacked the statuesque quality one associates with this genre of the margam. Veeraraghavan on tape sang well, barring the tillana.
Rani Khanam’s artistry
Despite the not-very-slim presence, Rani Khanam’s Kathak touches the heart with its exquisite feel for the subtleties of poetry in interpretative dance. At the Habitat, following a talk “Humiliation to Celebration” by Pran Neville, specialist on art politics of British India, her Kathak began with Hafiz Jalandhari’s “Raqusa” the tape played of the poet’s live talk being the high point of Pran’s lecture. The poet laments on the changing era from the art loving mujras to the Nautch being dubbed a moral polluter. Calling the dancer “devil’s daughter”, he relents by saying the fault is of society. “Uthiye Magrib Paschim se Ek Ghata hai” says the poem, expressing mixed feelings and helplessness, for the poet is no longer master of his country. Through it all he exhorts that the dancer keep doing what she knows best.
Next, Rani’s fine “nazar andaaz” and delicate expression caught the wistful shades of memories of the loved one, stirred by everything seen around him, based on Ghalib’s “Jahan tere nakse kadam dekhte”. Interspersed in Rani’s interpretative dance were nritta passages rendered with aplomb.
In conclusion came the quietude of Hazrat Amir Khusrau’s verses, with the devotee hoping through the teacher to shed all extraneous bonds to become one with the final truth. Rani’s special feel for Urdu poetry plus excellent vocal support by Imran Nazir and a generally competent musical team enriched the recital.
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Friday Review
Bangalore
Chennai and Tamil Nadu
Delhi
Hyderabad
Thiruvananthapuram
|
