Padma casts a magic spell
V.V.RAMANI
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That Padma Subrahmanyam continues to mesmerise was evident at the seven-day festival, a fund-raiser that she presented recently.
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Memories came flooding back as Padma presented `Krishnaya Thubyam Namaha' and her other early productions.
PHOTO: R. SHIVAJI RAO.
MAMMOTH: `Meenakshi Kalyanam.' Photo: R. Shivaji Rao.
Says dancer Lakshmi Viswanathan of her cousin, the inimitable doyen of Bharatanrithyam — "Padma has always aimed for the sky and found the stars." None could have spoken a truer word. It is this desire of Padma to reach for the sky that motivated her to embark on a rare feat of a dancer performing continuously for one whole week. It was remarkable that she was she able to withstand the seven-day rigour, and equally amazing that each member of the musical ensemble matched her with equal vigour.
The weeklong performance that took place at Narada Gana Sabha, Chennai, was a fund-raiser for a mammoth project undertaken by Padma Subrahmanyam to construct a temple for Bharata Muni, near Mahabalipuram. The Bharathamuni Foundation for Asian Culture will not only house a temple for Bharata but also include a library, museum, research and documentation centre for performing arts.
The first day's programme focussed on ideals and national integration. Taking songs in various languages spoken in India Padma highlighted the harmony of diversified yet integrated India.
The second day featured her evergreen classic Ekartha programme, `Krishnaya Thubyam Namaha,' which brought with it nostalgic memories, for it was with this production, Padma embarked on her successful career graph. Nearly 30 years later, the show still mesmerises the audience without either the age factor or the physical form of the dancer today, bothering the viewer. Padma's dramatic prowess was so powerful that even the late entry of Kamal Haasan went unnoticed till he came on stage.
Padma's approach to abhinaya and aharya has been one where there is no place for subtlety. She has been a brilliant communicator, wherein even the person sitting in the last row is able to comprehend what she says. Every little nuance is etched out in exaggerated detail and movements and her extremely mobile face which can convey a gamut of emotions puts her on a par with the genius of Sivaji Ganesan.
Padma's display of histrionics began with the sequence of Vasudeva carrying Krishna from the prison to Nanda's place to the beautiful sequence of the Kaliya snake episode, where she used the snake-like movements of Bhujanga Karanas. The magic spell culminated in the sequence depicting the Rukmini episode. The emphasis on the word, `Achuta' brought back memories of Shyamala Balakrishnan whose singing contributed to Padma's success in a large measure. To recreate that bhava is a daunting task but Gayatri Kannan rose to the occasion with her exemplary singing.
Here is a family of talented individuals, each a star in her own way, but working collectively for one common goal and not trying to project each one's brilliance.
Gayathri is not only a brilliant singer but also an extremely dedicated dancer. It is not just the veena that Kannan played but the mridangam as well with which he produced and created sound effects for the seven-day festival, besides setting music for some verses.
Other productions
The following days featured her other successful Ekartha productions like `Ramaya Thubyam Namaha,' `Bhagavad Gita' and `Jaya Jaya Shankara.'
The penultimate day was the Chennai premiere of her new production, `Paripadal Mudhal Bharathivarai' which looked at 2,000 years of Indian history. The initial numbers with verses taken from Avvaiyar, Sangam literature and the verse, `Vandodu Thumbiyam' depicting the city of Madurai and Kavadi, Kummi sequences did not carry with it the usual Padma touch. The tempo was built up with an excerpt from a Tirukkural couplet depicting the ideal role model for a house holder in which for the line, `Kannodu Kanninai' the communication between a husband and wife was done evocatively with expressive eye movements.
There were excerpts from `Tiruppavai' depicting the progression unto divine of Andal and a beautiful poem from `Kamba Ramayanam' wherein the grove is visualised as an auditorium, peacocks are the dancers, lotuses are lamps, bees are the musical instruments — here Padma's mimetic skills were in full flow. Her abhinaya reached a crescendo in the Nandanar sequence from `Periyapuranam'. A scene where Nandanar treats leather was so vividly portrayed whereby watching her, even a novice would understand the leather making process, the strong smell of leather, treating it cutting it and fixing it to form a percussion instrument was so rich in detail and almost photographic. It ended with `Velli Panimalail' of Subramaniya Bharatiar. For the line, `Palli Thanam Anaithum,' she had skilfully used arithmetic numbers `onnum onnum rendu, moonum rendum anju,' to depict with her footwork corresponding `nadais' in talam.
The grand finale was a dance production of `Meenakshi Kalyanam' performed with 50 students of her school, Nrithyodaya. The sequence brought out the story of Meenakshi from birth to her marriage with Siva. The performance was different from other days in two respects (a) it was done to recorded music (b) it involved group dancing.
Bharatanatyam group productions often dilute the excellence of the form. The coordination of both the movements and costumes fell short of expectations. The Karana and Chari movements which are a signature style of Padma seem to have an unnatural gait when performed by most of her students. But overall, the production held interest because of the interesting storyline, the music and the excellent performances by the main artistes.
One experienced a feeling of déjà vu as one watched Mahati and Gayatri Kannan perform. Vineeth as Siva was the right choice because he had the magnetic appeal that would match Padma's charisma. From his entry on stage in a sitting posture to the final sequence of the Kalyanam, Vineeth's talent was in full evidence. The small group as Devaganas, the Narthaki and the mother were other noteworthy dancers.
But what marred the show were the props that were not quite aesthetic and the sets used for production. The appliqué doorway panel, the thombais held together with poles had a rather amateur feel to it. Senior dancers should pay attention to these details lest young dancers should begin to emulate them.
Vidya Kalyanaraman's vocal support enriched Gayatri's voice. Nellai Balaji on the mridangam, Venkatesh on the flute, Subbarao Babu on the violin played with consistency on all days. Maduvanthi Arun's compering was commendable.
Sudha Mahendra, Y.G.Mahendra and Mrs. Y.G. Parthasarathy were the pillars of support for this festival presented under the Bharat Kalachar banner.
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