Dynamic movements

PHOTO: M. Karunakaran

EXECUTED WITH SENSITIVITY: Nartaki Natraj.

The joy of dancing was evident in Nartaki Natraj’s graceful Bharatanatyam performance. Her profound involvement with the art found a bubbly expression in her recital at the annual celebrations organised by the SubhaSheela Arts Academy for Kartik Fine Arts at the Narada Gana Sabha.

The event was organised by dancer Uma Muralikrishna in memory of her parents, Subhramaniam and Susheela, who were well-known patrons of art and culture.

Extracts from the Divyaprabhandam formed the core of Nartaki’s outpouring of bhava.

She chose lines from the works of Periazhwar, Nammazhwar and Thirumangai Azhwar and fashioned a cohesive piece of nayika bhava in ragamalika.

The heroine’s passionate search for Krishna was depicted with the twin threads of passion and devotion.

The portrayals of a mother who laments that her daughter has totally lost her sense of self, and the lovelorn girl who goes looking for the Lord of Thiruvarangam reached across time and age.

Verses such as ‘Kannan Meniyum, Mamani Kundram’ and others, were interpreted in detail with apt imagery. For instance, the heroine agonising over the absence of Krishna, looks for sandalwood perfume which wafts from him, the herd of cows which always accompany him, and finds him at the temple of Thiruvarangam.

The intensely sacred ritual of ‘shamasanam’ where the devotee is ‘branded’ with the symbols of the conch and discus of Lord Vishnu, was a sanchari that Nartaki executed with sensitivity. “I drew upon personal experiences at the temple of Thirumogur and discussions with scholars for the sancharis,” she said on the approach of choreography for this piece.

Nartaki’s abhinaya is articulate and comes from the heart, yet at times she seems to lose herself in a flood of ideas which come thick and fast. A relaxed delivery of ideas would enhance the outcome of her bhava.

If sringara bhakti was the main theme, the opening number earlier was the sollukattu set to Bahudari ragam which laid the foundation for the bright aura of the whole evening’s dancing.

‘Marubari Talalenura,’ the javali in Khamas, was an ideal foil after the intense mood of the Prabhandam. A light-hearted portrayal had the dancer claim to be tormented by the arrows of Manmatha, and eventually whisk off her beloved.

A thillana in Hamsanandi and Rupakam (attributed to The Tanjore Quartet) performed with dynamic movements, was the concluding number.

The orchestral team comprised Pandanallur Ratna Subhramaniam performing the nattuvangam, vocals by Girija Ramaswamy, mridangam by Narayanan and violin by Kalyani Sankar.

PHOTO: R. Ragu

Maki Fukuda.

Clad in a white costume, and sporting a single braid adorned with white flowers, the dancer at R. K. Swamy auditorium presented a picture of grace and decorum. Her dancing spoke of authenticity, hard work and devotion to tradition. What was unusual was that the dancer, Maki Fukuda, hails from Osaka, Japan. Maki Fukuda’s dignified dancing proved how true love for Bharatanatyam transcends barriers of distance, culture and language. She has been learning for the past 20 years from Prof. C. V. Chandrasekhar. She also propagates Bharatanatyam at her dance school, Amrita Dance Company, at Osaka.

Maki began with the theme of adoration to Lord Rama, followed by alarippu. The verses from Tulsidas were followed by the khanda alarippu which provided a brisk note to the recital. ‘Gaayiye Ganapati’ in Kalavati which followed, had short sollukattus with swara passages. Maki’s firm adavus and footwork did full justice to the choreography.

The varnam — the navaragamaalika tana varnam, ‘Valachi Vachi’— had been chosen with care. Theermanams which synched with the sahitya and swaram in size and tenor, complete adavu patterns and a sensitive depiction by the dancer made this the highlight of the recital.

Prof. Chandrasekhar’s sonorous rendering of the theermanams was echoed by Maki in her energetic yet controlled nritta. The thaihath thai hi adavu was done perfectly with the heels raised completely. The dancer’s undiluted standards in nritta was emphasised by chief guest Adyar Lakshman who noted that ‘the perfect araimandi is the speciality of Prof. Chandrasekhar’s students! Their nritta is uncompromisingly perfect.’ The dancer proved her abilities in delivering the right touch of emotion also.

‘Why this indifference?’ was the idea conveyed with both devotion and agony. The flow of abhinaya in the varnam was smooth and of special note was the cameo of Rama’s wedding to Sita, adding polish. Prof. Chandrasekhar’s melodious singing bestowed shimmering hues to the varnam with ragas such as Sankarabharanam, Khambodi and Mohanam.

Surprisingly, the next item, a Jayadeva Ashtapadi, turned out to be a lukewarm affair. Even given the tight reins of the choreography, Maki could still have conveyed the sringara inherent in the situation of raslila in ‘Haririha’ instead of dishing out a one-dimensional smiling depiction.

‘Nee Uraipai,’ a Tamil ragamalika song, was performed with total empathy. Maki was able to establish the scenario where Rama sends Hanuman as his messenger.

The thillana in Paras, another Kalakshetra classic, was performed in its unabridged version.

It was quite refreshing to see the many meyyadavus (the body sway) done with relish by the dancer.

Guru Chandrasekhar’s excellent singing and nattuvangam had full support from Adyar Balu on the mridangam, Muthukumar on the flute and Padmanabhan playing the violin. Janaki’s skilled oratory highlighted the special occasion behind the dance — a tribute to the late dancer Rajesh, organised by father Adyar Balu.

© Copyright 2000 - 2009 The Hindu