Gurus' ingenuity
LEELA VENKATARAMAN
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Besides a riveting performance by Aishwarya Narayanaswamy, this past week also saw Alpana Nayak dwelling on the joys of teaching dance to specially gifted children.
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SIMPLY MESMERISING Aishwarya Narayanaswamy who gave a scintillating performance at New Delhi's India International Centre.
Arguably one of the most gifted Bharatanatyam dancers, 21-year-old Chennai-based Aishwarya Narayanaswamy's outstanding recital at the India International Centre, deflated strident criticism about the `already seen' quality of the traditional margam repertoire. A natural dancer with a fine presence, effortless in creating the awesome precision of `araimandi', line and laya in any tempo, Aishwarya also packs a punch with the internalised depth of abhinaya.
The dancer scintillatingly visualised her guru Anita Guha's refreshingly imaginative choreographic concepts imparting much-rendered items with uniqueness and originality. Right from the riveting power of the one-legged stance with torso swivelling from side to side, two hands clawed in simha mudra, representing the man/lion in the invocation "Agaravaasa Yoga Narasimha" strung on to the Gambhiranattai Pushpanjali, to the myriad images strung round the "Pagalum iravum" (day and night) phrase in the Shankarabharanam Dandayudhapani Pillai varnam "Sakhiye, inda jaalam enadi" visualising thoughts of the Lord Venkateswara unconsciously intruding into the activities of the love-struck nayika, the suggestive and subtle dance treatment was never literal nor hackneyed. The tight nritta interludes had a lightning impact in the tonal changes and rhythmic contrasts, without being needlessly over-spun.
And at any speed, Aishwarya's dance never forfeited the clean look, never frenzied. All mythological references whether of Ravana's Kailasa Uddharanam (in Swati Tirunal's Hamsanandi "Shankara Sri Giri"), Draupadi samrakshanam or Gajendra moksham (in the varnam) in just a few incisive images without long narratives communicated powerfully, all articles of faith with the dancer. Teacher Anita Guha `s professionalism and eye for detail lay also in the organisation of the fine team of musicians she led with her nattuvangam with Randini (vocal), Ramshankar Babu (mridangam), Muruganandan (violin) and Ramesh (flute). With so much going for her, Aishwarya could opt for a less flashy costume - the one aspect lacking in aesthetics.
Dance therapy
A grinding halt in the career due to ill health can open up new avenues as in the case of Balasore- born Alpana Nayak who, after a gap of 10 years, due to a heart surgery, went back to Odissi despite the Guru's apprehensions (Alpana trained under Devaprasad Das, Sudhir Sahu and Harekrushna Behera), but with goals changed. At the IIC Annexe, taking the floor under the aegis of the Dalai Lama's Foundation for Universal Responsibility, Alpana spoke of how she wandered into teaching Odissi to children mentally and physically challenged, in institutions like Educatus and even an institution in Japan where handicapped persons ranging from 15-75 were taught through Dance, Theatre and Fine Arts, and also in Greenwich Borough, London, where she taught Indian dance to children from alien cultural backgrounds through an innovative use of gestures, imitative of movements of birds and animals.
Alpana learned that body language communicated across language barriers. Patience and love she saw in Japan are her method of reaching out to such youngsters, rather than the brute force used as part of the prescribed method in India of bringing under control the outbursts of sudden violence such persons are prone to. Slowly through a trial and error process, Alpana has come to value dance therapy - where Odissi can be like a Yoga, a group therapy creating social bonds, a treatment for muscular rigidity, anxiety and a way of building up muscle toning, body coordination, motivation, memory and concentration in challenged kids.
"I have taught them less than I have learned," says Alpana showing her commitment to making dance a vehicle for transforming less fortunate lives. The evening was crowned by a brief demonstration by disciple Tanmaya, her first student.
Arushi Charms
Notwithstanding the last minute change of venue from the Attic to Gandharva Mahavidyalaya, Arushi Mudgal did not lack a good audience. In the typical well- trained mould of students groomed by Madhavi Mudgal, Arushi has commendable grasp over technique and grammar with an innate charm in abhinaya. The highlight of the recital was the dancer's own nritta choreography to Madhup Mudgal's score in Bageshri, the dancer's movement concepts showing musicality translated into dance and how a movement motif takes on an organic growth in a corvai.
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