In fine, really fine, form
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Bharatanatyam by Deepa Raghavan and Kuchipudi by Jayarama Rao and Vanashree Rao enlivened the Tyagaraja Music & Dance Festival this past week.
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Deepa Raghavan...all poise and grace. Photos: Rajeev Bhatt.
DEEPA RAGHAVAN, who received the title of Natya Ilavarasi conferred by the Shanmukhananda Sangeetha Sabha at its Thyagaraja Music & Dance Festival - 2005, gave a sprightly account of herself at her Bharatanatyam recital during the festival this past week. A disciple of S. Kanaka, Deepa has clear and neat adavus, and her agility is appealing. Her tillana in the raga Kedaram, Adi tala, exemplified these qualities.
In her javali in the raga Bilahari, in which the heroine confronts the errant lover, she showed the spunk that goes down well with today's audiences. Earlier, she presented a long rendition of one of Tyagaraja's pancha ratna kritis, "Jagadanandakaraka" in the raga Nattai, and a kirtanam, also of Tyagaraja, in which the devotee pleads for a glimpse of the Lord. Both these presentations were imbued with bhakti rasa. The pancha ratna kriti has its own punch, musically, with juxtaposition of fast and medium tempo, but taken as a dance interpretation, it seemed to become long-winded. This may have been avoided if the dancer had chosen to present a regular Bharatanatyam varnam, but it becomes a difficult choice for the dancers at this festival dedicated to Saint Tyagaraja, and to their credit, they try to keep the major portion of their presentations to his compositions, which the music recitals do not often bother about.
The dancer placed some arrhythmic steps from time to time, which were as painful as they were inexplicable.
Guru Jayarama Rao and Vanashree Rao.
With the relatively prompt finish to Deepa's recital, Guru Jayarama Rao and Vanashree Rao took the stage. They began with a sparkling "Sri Vighnarajam Bhaje" in the raga Nattai. The fine coordination between the two and their complementary postures made the presentation an aesthetic experience. Next they presented the Ardhanarishwara theme, a composition in ragamalika and talamalika. The kriti of Tyagaraja chosen by the Raos was in Vrindavana Sarang. While it was also soothing, one felt the dancers were somewhat uneasy, especially Guru Jayaramarao, whose responsibility of guiding the orchestra seemed to be telling on him. Like the invisible pea that bothered the princess, this feeling seemed to come in the way of him and the audience settling down to some fine abhinaya.
Accompanists in fine fettle
Almost the same musicians, barring the nattuvanars, shared the honours for both the recitals. While Deepa had the advantage of her guru Kanaka Srinivasan conducting for her, the Raos chose percussionist Thanjavur Keshavan, whose nattuvangam is marked by a ringing voice and powerful presentation. Vocalist Sudha Raghuraman was in fine form, and her changeovers in the ragamalika were smooth and euphonic. Bejjanki Krishna peppered the pieces with his mridangam embellishments. Raghuraman on the flute provided tuneful fillers, while VSK Annadurai joined in the second performance with his seasoned violin.
ANJANA RAJAN
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Bangalore
Chennai and Tamil Nadu
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