Obeisance to gurus
It was an enthralling evening at Khimcha auditorium, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan. An able exponent of Bharatanatya and Hindustani vocal music Susheela Mehta paid her respects to her Gurus Adyar Lakshman, Prof. C.V. Chandrasekhar, Kalanidhi Narayanan and Lalith J. Rao — all colossus in their own field. Not only was it traditional, but also provided the rasikas of Bangalore to have a full view of the artistry and equipment on the same platform.
First it was veteran vocalist Lalith J. Rao who swept the audience with her authentic singing in the very demanding and delicate nom-tom style. Her expertise was evident in the slow, serene alap in Yaman Kalyan, reminding one of the majestic Dhrupad singing, traversing through the mandra to other sthayis with characteristic swara combinations and vocal flourishes. It was a perfect example for "Nabhi hruthkhantha rasana", the sound emanating from the navel. The bandish "Neha kaise laag" (Rathanjankar, teen tal) glowed forth in its natural beauty. Bharathi and Deepa (vocal support), Vyasamurthy Katti (harmonium) and Udayaraj Karpur (tabla) provided able accompaniment.
Marked with finesse
The septuagenarian titans of Bharatanatya, Adyar Lakshman and Prof. C.V. Chandrasekhar belied their age and presented a classic Bharatanatya recital. With Lakshman's authoritatively assured nattuvanga, and singing followed by Ananthakrishnan (violin), Jayaram (flute) and Adyar Gopinath (mridanga) forming the right note of togetherness, Chandrasekhar rendered the ghanaragamalika alarippu with finesse and taut laya. The veteran dancer never lost his cool in the marathon varna "Manavi chai konarada" (Shankarabharana) which lasted for 48 minutes. The racy nritta with its rhythmic flourishes was perfectly executed.
Ensemble
The prima donna of abhinaya Kalanidhi Narayanan accompanied by the same musical ensemble, captivated the lovers of dance with her excellent satwikaabhinaya. She achieved this by delineating a Subbaramaiyer's Tamil pada ("Netrum vare", showing virahothkhantitha and kalahaantritha nayikas), a Kshetragna pada "Manchi dinamu" (Anandabhairavi, saamanya nayika) and "Krishna nee begane baaro".
Her performance stressed the importance of understatement.
M. SURYA PRASAD
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