Of beauty and grace
— Photo: K. Gajendran
Deepika Reddy paid an impressive tribute to the gurus of Kuchipudi.
FILM PERSONALITY Hema Malini's marathon Mahalakshmi dance ballet had the best of everything from gorgeous costumes to aesthetic stage settings, lovely lyrics and what more, a charismatic yesteryear dream girl whose charm refuses to fade with time.
All this except the principle ingredient - a classically formatted dance. If audience sat through, appreciated and applauded it was only on certain other points, which also contribute to make a dance drama successful.
And above all the Hema Malini factor that has a fan following among the middle-aged even today.
That Hema Malini carried the ballet entirely on her shoulder based on her physical beauty is to be mentioned without the slightest reservation.
The narrative is pieced together out of varied facets of the mother goddess, focused on the Mahalakshmi avatar.
A white screen in the backdrop displaying the mythical milky ocean the abode of Sri and later, her consort Mahavishnu emphasised the Lakshmi aspect as different from the Kali and Saraswati that make up the shakti trinity.
The dancers dressed as larger-than-life sea shells and conches around Mahalakshmi (Hema Malini) now in resplendent red costume, next in golden white, lotus pink, shades of purple and so on with matching gem-studded tiaras and jewels was a picture of artistic magnificence. The
emotive side of her abhinaya came to the fore in the role of Mohini. The lyrics (in Hindi) and the music were captivating .
The Ashtalakshmi episode had a string of eight dancers enter and exit in a quick display of `hastha mudras' which appealed to the aesthetic senses. Though the `sagar manthan' (churning of milky ocean) by the `devas' on one side and `asuras' on the other was not all that impressive with repeated use of the same `jati'.
But the emergence of the mythological Kamadenu, Iravath, the Kausthub gem, the kalpavriksh, the seven apsara and Dhanavantri was a visual treat. The dance of the asuras had an element of classical footwork worth a mention.
Imposing performance
— Photo: Satish H.
Hema Malini's sheer beauty held the audience captive.
Our very own Deepika Reddy's 25-minute Kuchipudi was something to savour and write home about. She took up a thematic composition (set to `Ragamaalika' `Misrachapu talam') on the Golconda sultan Abul Hassan Tanesha's munificent grant of an entire village (Kuchipudi) to the dancing community of Brahmins whose performance the king stands to witness.
Indeed an apt and thoughtful theme designed for the festival. It is also her artistic contribution to all the great gurus of Kuchipudi village, the birth place of this genre.
`Jaya ho jaya ho Tanesha'... recreates the touring dancers of Kuchipudi who praise the then ruler of Golconda seeking his benevolence and patronage as he was known to be a lover of fine arts.
Deepika's movements were markedly graceful with statuesque posture that made her look a picture of poignant dignity. The dancers, four female (Samidha, Hima Bindu, Sravya and Mihira ) and two male (Vijay Shekar and Mrityunjay Sharma) moved in absolute accuracy with the principle dancer so that not a step went out of pace. The execution of footwork patterns though not highly elaborate, were in keeping with the thematic content.
Deepika's abhinaya as Tanesha in appreciation of the team of dancers was imposing. It was so well worked out that though short, it was a sweet and memorable presentation.
The `tillana' that followed (`Mangalampalli' composition in `Thyayamalika' set to `Adi talam') was more of the gentle footwork patterns where the stress seemed to be on aesthetics rather than working out a series of intricate jatis as is wont. Faultless precision among the group of dancers as they undertook diagonal shifts in sequential order is a compliment to the control they had over the medium.
Kishore Mosalikanti's choreography especially in the former number and his compelling nattuvangam were an asset to the performance. D.S.V. Sastry on the vocal sounded sonorous.
Mridangam by Rajagopalachary, violin by Saikumar and flute by Ravi Kiran came as a fitting orchestra.
The two dances were a part of the three-day Golconda cultural festival organised by the AP Tourism Development Corporation at Taramati culture complex.
RANEE KUMAR
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