She who was more wronged than wrong
LEELA VENKATARAMAN
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Two very different productions by Bharatanatyam dancers show how the form has evolved over the years.
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A FRESH VIEW Geeta Chandran in her production on Kaikeyi.
Was Kaikeyi of Ramayana fame the vile plotter history has made her out to be, or was she the victim of palace intrigue and behind-the-scenes power games — condemned for daring to defy the establishment? Viewing this colourful character from a vastly different perspective was Natya Vriksha's dance/theatre effort Kaikeyi presented at Akshara Theatre.
A collaborative endeavour, designed by dancer Geeta Chandran and theatre person Rashid Ansari, the choreography blending her Bharatanatyam imagination with Rashid's dramatic inputs drawing on Butoh, Western Contemporary Dance, the Chinese martial art Tai Ji Quan and Ba-gua, also had taped sound effects in Hindi, English dialogue, and music ranging from rap lyrics by Taru Dalmia to classical genres — Hindustani and Carnatic.
Little has changed
The simple and effective stage had two levels, the top level the bed chamber of Kaikeyi. Fast moving, the non-linear treatment makes out a compelling case for Kaikeyi as a brave, passionate woman, wronged by a patriarchal system full of political chicanery.
Dancing, acting and singing, Geeta's solo presentation incorporates time present as but a reflection of time past, for little has changed and political agendas still carve out niches for the `heroes' and `villains' it shapes. A rag doll symbolises Manthara, Kaikeyi's loyal maid, and also becomes the other in exchanges and
a manifestation of Kaikeyi's conscience.
Versatile Geeta undoubtedly is, though it was still the classical segments involving Bharatanatyam in abhinaya and nritta form that emerged the strongest. As for the singing, Geeta as the friendless abandoned Kaikeyi rendering the Tyagaraja kirtana "Eti janmamidi" in Varali brought a lump to the throat. Also very evocative was the concluding scene with Kaikeyi singing, this time in the Hindustani genre, leading her grandchild by the hand, walking away out of vision.
While the thematic argument was well conceived with humour in unexpected places relieving tension, the eclectic mix of so many strands made for an uneven quality, some parts more convincing than others. As an experimental work in progress, the production should evolve over repeated presentations. It augurs well for the arts that tradition-based classical dances and theatre with their contemporary sensibility are able to interact so intimately.
S. Kanaka's presentation
Maheswara representing Siva in the Lingam manifestation along with His dancing form as Nataraja where he symbolises movement of the cosmos embodying the five elements of Fire, Water, Earth, Wind and Sky, was the basic theme of Panchalingam, a group work conceived by S. Kanaka and presented by her Nrityaranjani disciples at the Kamani. By far the most successful of her group productions, Panchalingam worked more as a `solo-group' rather than as a work where group logic dictated, with dancers performing in relation to one another. This is because Kanaka based the entire choreography on the lyrics composed by one of the great Trimurti, namely Muttuswamy Dikshitar - who with his Sanskrit scholarship revelled in intellectual themes like Panchalingam. Not easy, given its abstract nature to capture in visual images of dance. Interpreting the lyrics through word/gesture abhinaya-based dance, the production had several solo dancers performing together, but as individuals - with occasional group arrangements. Dikshitar's compositions eulogising the Lord in his Panchabhautika manifestation are specific to five different kshetras (holy places) where the Lingam embodying one of the elements is enshrined.
In Tiruvannamalai he is Lingodbhava emerging from a flaming pillar; in Tiruvannaikaval, he is Jambulingeswara embodying water. In Sri Kalahasti he is the embodiment of Wind and the massive temples in Kancheepuram and Chidambaram enshrine Him as Prithvi (Earth) and Sky respectively.
Synchronisation
The senior dancers had involvement with higher synchronicity in rendition. Linking the sedate paced kriti interpretation segments with brisk nritta was the competent male dancer, Seshadri Iyengar, a disciple of Bangalore Padmini Ravi, as Nataraja, dancing in different rhythmic arrangements. The sound tape with Sudha Raghuraman's melodic singing lacked verbal clarity and in the dances, the "Shri Kalahasti" in Husseni and "Chintaya Makantha" in Bhairavi meant two very similar ragas in succession which could be suitably altered in subsequent presentations. Costumes in pastel colours were aesthetic. Some avoidable delayed entrances after costume changing could be cured in subsequent presentations of this theme.
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