Still milestones and miles to go
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Uttara Rao gave a pleasant Bharatanatyam performance the other day.
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WINSOME Uttara Rao in an abhinaya posture at the India Habitat Centre. Photo: R.V. Moorthy.
Uttara Rao, a disciple of Guru Kanaka Srinivasan, presented a zestful Bharatanatyam recital at the India Habitat Centre this past week. Ably conducted by her guru, the performance bore the mark of Guru Kanaka's decorative choreography and care in teaching and selecting items.
Uttara has a pleasant countenance and well-toned body suited for dance. She carries off the complicated rhythmic combinations with poise. Her lines are clean and firm, with no jerks or angularities to disturb the equilibrium.
The centre point of the recital was the varnam in Todi of Swati Tirunal. Well sustained, it nevertheless brought out certain aspects Uttara might like to work on. In her dhi dhi tai footwork, the sharpness of the beats was rarely, if ever, emphasised. This adavu is a major component of rhythmic variations in Bharatanatyam, and the original three beats should be clearly enunciated. Only then other patterns - five, four, seven, nine - can also be displayed.
This aspect of footwork, besides a clearer striking in the sama tattu, would benefit from more practice, as also the murumandi posture, in which the dancer tends to leans dangerously forward when executing adavus requiring full sitting facing the back of the stage.
The accompanists provided inspiring support. Vocalist Sudha Raghuraman provided a treat with her delineation of major ragas like Todi and Sindhu Bhairavi. One felt, however, that the clarity of the lyrics was sometimes lost in the use of gamakas and bhrigas. Flute by G. Raghuraman was also enjoyable. With Guru Kanaka on the nattuvangam and Bejanki Krishna on the mridangam, the way the team maintained a steady tempo was commendable, especially during the varnam, which often sees an involuntary increase in the pace.
A time to observe
Uttara is at the stage now where she should spend perhaps equal concentration on observation - of the technique great dancers, including her guru - and her own practice. This will help her abhinaya too. Besides, there is the question of investing thought, which elders refer to as chintan, which helps an artiste to bring the art in a seamless blend with life. These ideas may sound high flown in the age of talent hunt shows on TV that catapult youngsters to stardom seemingly in a day, of beauty pageants that have turned into our idol mills, but youngsters who aim to come to grips with India's classical music and dance will have to incorporate them into their schedule, Boogie Woogie and other `reality' shows notwithstanding.
ANJANA RAJAN
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