Some rewarding viewing
LEELA VENKATARAMAN
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Performances by recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi’s youth awards were a stunning treat.
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Bijayini Satpathy
Treated as one is today to the pervading mediocrity in the classical dance scene, watching the rare quality of young awardees in Sangeet Natak Akademi’s Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar, certainly one of the Akademi’s finest ideas, was to be reassured about the future of our classical arts. Kapila, Kutiyattam artist G. Venu’s daughter, is one of her type, her unbelievable talent backed by dedication honed by years of training under the doyen of Kutiyatt
am, Guru Ammanur Madhava Chakiyar at Irinjalakuda, grooming into one of the brightest hopes for the future of this art form. The scorching passion of her Narasimhavatar presented at Meghdoot theatre right from the starting sloka “Vedhanudharate”, transported the viewer into realms rarely visited in the normal run of performances. The power-drunk vanity of Hiranyakashipu having to battle against the natural tenderness of a father for his son, making him decide on the death penalty for Prahlad’s refusal to acknowledge the father as the Ultimate deity in place of Vishnu he worships, and the uncontrollable ‘raudra’ (destructive anger) of Narasimha who tears the stomach of the demon king to drink his blood were communicated through some of the most versatile netrabhinaya (expression using eye movements) and hastabhinaya (expression using hand gestures).
In the concentrated energy and stillness of an internalised journey, performing to the flame of the lamp, she was oblivious to the audience.
Nirmala on the talam and Kalamandalam Rajiv and Raman on the mizhavu drum provided excellent accompaniment.
A challenge
To follow such a performance and manage to hold the large audience enthralled with an entirely different quality of dance energy could have been accomplished only by a dancer of the calibre of Bijayini Satpathi, whose Odissi combines stunning agility with rare interpretative skills. Provoking her talents to the maximum is the exquisite choreography of Surupa Sen whose sensitivity is toned by high intelligence.
‘Srimati’ through variegated nritta patterns portrayed woman, the skittish high-spirited energy of childhood slowly transforming to the sensuous, physically conscious maiden kindling to the urges of desire. From a passionate Radha reliving with the sakhi moments of her first passionate encounter with Krishna in “Keshi Mathanam Udaram” to the transformation as Krishna winning back Radha’s love in “Priye Charusheele” in the following ashtapadi, Bijayini was shatteringly convincing. And, what a new interpretation of know-all smiling Krishna who skillfully removes all the resentment in Radha!
The best of the performance was in Sivashtakam – a delightfully meditative offer portraying the all- embracing presence of the “Yogi to whom Yoga itself submitted”. For such a high voltage performance based on music composed by the late Bhubaneswar Misra and Raghunath Panigrahi, and a spirited percussionist whose ukkutas almost danced through syllables, the singer was peculiarly low key, lacking in steam.
Deep involvement
On a different level in its technical control and deep involvement was the Odissi of Leena Mohanty, a disciple of Guru Durgacharan Ranbir. Free and easy in grace and rhythm was the pallavi in Rageshri with Dhaneshwar Swain providing excellent mardala support. Based on Ramahari Das’s musical composition with Oriya Sahitya, Dashamahavidya, a challenging item, while performed with controlled passion by the dancer, needs variety in pacing so as to avoid the feeling of dragging. This critic was disappointed with vocalist Sukant Kundu’s enunciation of the words crying for more clarity. Words like Sodashi, Dhoomavati. Chinnamasta, Bhairavi, Bagala, were indistinct. The abhinaya item based on Kavi Kalicharan Patnaik’s poetry set to music by Ramahari Das, with an overdose of coyness, was neither here nor there.
Unsullied recital
Sijagurumayum Nimita Devi gave an unsullied Manipuri recital, the Gauranga Nartan choreographed by Guru Babu Singh inspired by the
Harikeertan performances of the late devotee who was instrumental in giving Manipuri its Vaishnav dimensions, different from the Manipuri repertoire one is normally treated to. Both in this and in the Krishna Viraha ashtapadi, portraying Krishna’s anguish in separation from Radha rendered with typical Manipuri restraint, the musical support was a factor, the singer Priyarani Devi quite outstanding. The Manipuri dance was preceded by a slick Thang Ta demonstration by awardee Thokchom Imocha Singh.
This critic was sorry to miss the performances of Bharatanatyam dancer Sheejith Krishna and Kuchipudi exponent Vedantam Venkata Naga-Chelapathi Rao.
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