Cultural fiesta
G.S. PAUL
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The third Sree Sankara Dance and Music Festival was held as part of the Sree Sankara Jayanthi celebrations.
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DANCE EXTRAVAGANZA: Neena Prasad.
The third Sree Sankara Dance and Music Festival at Kalady, organised as part of the Sree Sankara Jayanthi celebrations, was held under the aegis of Sree Sankara School of Dance. In addition to the maestros who performed, there were hundreds of up-and-coming artistes who participated in the festival.
Bharatanatyam exponent Vasundhara Doraswamy presented a solo recital based on Sankaracharya's `Soundarya Lahari.' The mainstay of the performance was the text scripted by Udyavara Madhava Acharya based on `Soundarya Lahari,' in which Sankara praises the glory of the goddess.
After the poorva ranga, the dancer carried the audience to the Himalayas, the abode of Siva and Sive (Parvathy).
Sanchari bhavas
She assumed varied roles of the Mother Goddess, Siva and very often the narrator himself, which gave her scope for sanchari bhavas, depicting events like Varaha avatar, Mahishasura vadha, Tripura vijaya et al. Episodes from Sankara's childhood were also ingeniously depicted. A mix of Bharatanatyam, yoga and martial arts, and short commentaries by Madhava Acharya added a theatrical dimension to the recital.
Sreedhar and Anuradha.
Neena Prasad's Mohiniyattom recital in the traditional format of `margam' was gripping. She opened with `Ganesha Pancha Ratnam' (Five jewels of Lord Ganesha) of Sankaracharya. The lines `Mudha karatha modhakam, sada vimukthi dayakam' was coupled with a cholkettu choreographed by her. The pada varnam that followed brought to limelight Neena's choreographic creativity. An episode, `Usha - Chitralekha,' from `Banayudham Kathakali' by Rama Sasthrikal was vividly portrayed. Bewitching abhinaya interspersed by attractive sequences of nritta explained how Usha was entranced by the prince Anirudha in her dream, while interpreting the lines, `Kamopama roopan, kamanan vannu nidrayil.'
The music scored in Charukesi by Changanassery Madhavan Namboodiri, and also sung by him helped the portrayal considerably.
The two-hour Bharatanatyam recital by the dancer-couple Sreedhar and Anuradha will be long remembered for Lalgudi Jayaraman's varnam, Sankaracharya's Bhajagovindam and `Sabari' excerpted from Valmiki Ramayana.
The festival concluded with a Carnatic music recital by O. S. Thyagarajan. Two young musicians and eight dancers also exhibited their talents this year. They were accredited artistes of the School who were trained as professional performers by the School.
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