The tunes they dance to...
LEELA VENKATARAMAN
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Roja Kannan performed Bharatanatyam accompanied by an inspiring orchestra, while the Kathak field witnessed a recital by Ram Mohan Maharaj and one by Aditi Bhattasali.
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POISE AND POLISH Roja Kannan strikes a chord in New Delhi.
One may not subscribe to the cynic's remark of the Indian classical dancer as a puppet on strings entirely controlled by the musician puppeteers. But there is no denying the significant role of the accompanists in elevating or dampening a recital. In the inspired Bharatanatyam performance at the India International Centre by Chennai's Roja Kannan, trained by veterans Guru Adyar Lakshman and abhinaya doyenne Kalanidhi Narayanan, the high quality of the accompanists added lustre to the evening.
Conducting the recital with his nattuvangam and spirited cymbal playing with adroit eduppus or take-off points in interaction with Nellai D. Kannan's answering percussive responses was Guru Adyar Lakshman himself.
Radha Badrinath's mellifluous singing with the irrepressible guru's classically pungent, gritty-voiced interventions made for striking contrast in vocal support. Achingly sweet-toned was R. Kalaiarasan's violin.
Starting with the invocatory Nandi chol and Shiva dhyanam, Roja's determinate dancing kept pace with those who called the tune. The vintage Tanjore Quartet navaragamalika varnam "Saami Ninne Kori Naanu " depicted a nayika, who while proclaiming her love for the magnificent Brihadeeswara Shiva of Tanjavur temple, furthered her own case as the ideal match for the Lord with her talents. In a breezy 40-minute rendition with no pauses, Roja's competent and involved presentation with varied interpretative elaborations to each musical line and bristling nritta interludes, was confined to a restricted floor space, with no sweeping movements covering large areas. After this expansive centrepiece, despite Kalaiarasan's delightful musical interlude, the virahotkanthitha's pleading with her sakhi to convey to Lord Padmanabha of how his indifference smote her, based on the Swati Tirunal Padam "Tharuni Nyaan", was not sufficiently different in emotional tone. That came in the Subramania Bharati composition "Kannan Mana Nilayam" with the matter-of-fact attitude of the love-crossed nayika wanting the sakhi to ascertain the mind of truant lover Krishna, before moving on to other pastures. But the abhinaya needed more sting. Trying to match the pace set for the Hindolam tillana found a tiring dancer in flagging movements.
Vitality and delicacy
Nurtured in the mehfil ambience, nourished with audience "Wah Wah"s, the open ended improvisatory nature of Kathak finds the formality of the dancer-audience separation in the proscenium situation restricting. While the likes of a Birju Maharaj may get away with long peroration sallies before the microphone in a recital, others may not be awarded the same indulgence.
This is where Ram Mohan's performances need to be less expansive in laudatory references to audience members and philosophising. Somewhere along the way, this fine dancer's case has gone by default and he has missed the kind of focus his talent warrants due to many reasons.
Performing for the HCL Concert Series at Habitat's Stein auditorium, Ram Mohan excelled in both tandav vitality and delicate rhythmic touches. The amad passages, uthan, ginti bol of razor-sharp 1 to 8 ascending and descending arithmetic and gat nikas were scintillating. So were the oft-rendered parmelu with its "turra" "cuckoo" bols and the mayurgat.
But the best of the laya challenges lay in the upaj segments and the jugalbandi exchanges with excellent tabla responses from Shakeel Ahmed. Though the dancer's chakkars and chakradar days may be passé, more bandishes and less pauses would make the nritta more substantial. In the thumri "Hato Chedo Na Kanha" well sung by Prakash, one saw a male dancer not afraid of sringar themes, though instead of becoming a clone of the guru, Ram Mohan must find his own individuality in abhinaya.
Kathak in the Habitat Basement Theatre saw the stage taken by young Aditi Bhattasali, a disciple of Krishna Mohan Mishra. Very graceful movements and a vivacious stage presence are Aditi's plus points. A dancer who has the basics in grasp, the Teen tala abstract dance showed that more riyaz will erase the occasional rhythmic lapses and missed syllables. Innate abhinaya talent needs more internalised maturity.
While fully sympathising with the compulsions of career promotion dogging dancers, one would still like less of the intrusive photographers blocking the view, and three line speech interruptions to the recital by VVIPs attending for just five minutes.
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