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Spotlight on youth
RUPA SRIKANTH
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Confident Purvadhanashree and vivacious Anagha were featured in Bharat Kalachar’s Yuva Utsav.
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Anagha.
As Purvadhanashree breezed in to perform the opening Mallari in Gambhira Nattai (Misra jathi triputa talam), one was struck by her confidence. One’s expectations were already high considering that she had just been introduced as a fulltime danc
er from Delhi in her late twenties who is well-versed in many dance styles. Her initiation into Bharatanatyam was in the Thanjavur bani that she learnt from her mother, Kamalini Dutt; she has learnt the Kalakshetra style under Radhika Shurajit and is now learning Vilasini Natyam under Swapnasundari.
Though Purvadhanashree proved to be an expressive and a graceful dancer, her Bharatanatyam recital for Bharat Kalachar was disappointing. The impact of her mobile face and grace was lost in the uninspiring choreography. This was especially true in the Shyama Sastri swarajathi, ‘Kamakshi Amba’ (Bhairavi, Misra chapu) that was musically exciting but visually uinteresting. The nritta throughout was in a predictable madhyama kaalam mode abhinaya was a straight-jacketed interpretation, word for word.
Energetic choreography
The choreography brought down the energy level of the evening irrevocably. The dancer needs to improve on her nritta — a stiffer posture, a consistent araimandi and well-defined arm movements are a must. The Amritavarshini thillana composed by Sadasivam in Adi talam came as a forceful finale where the choreography was more energetic and the dancer’s involvement palpable.
Similarly the javali ‘Marubari’ by Dharmapuri Subbaraiyyar (Khamas, Adi) proved that Purvadhanashree’s bhava can go beyond the ‘padartha’ technique. There were a few moments when the dancer showed intensity in her bhava, especially in the closing moments of the swarajathi and fleetingly in the Ramalinga Swamy devotional piece, which means that she only needs to bring out what is already there.
The music was brilliant. With good voice control, Kuldeep Pai took on gamely the challenge of the swarajathi and its mandara-sthayi opening. He was ably supported by Senthil Prasad on the violin. Accuracy in rhythm was provided by Balakrishnan, nattuvangam and Nagai Narayanan (mridangam).
Photos: S.Thanthoni and R.Shivaji Rao
Expressive: Purvadhanashree
A footnote for the organisers — Shouldn’t there be an age limit for ‘Yuva Utsav’ and should there be a floor mike for the ‘young’ dancers?
‘Azhagan Murugan’ was a colourful mosaic of ‘sringara’ compositions on Subramanya thoughtfully chosen and carefully woven to fit into a traditional margam format. It was presented by Anagha Bharat, a bright, young collegian who is training under Jayanthi Subramaniam for a year, prior to which she learnt Bharatanatyam from her mother, Sudha Bharath. She hails from a dance family, her grandparents G.V.Ramani and Ranganayaki Ramani having been dance gurus in Mumbai.
The skilful orchestra headed by Jayanthi deserves full marks for the wholehearted support it provided. Spearheaded by the guru on the nattuvangam, the crew – Radha Badri (vocal), Kalaiarasan (violin) and Nellai D. Kannan (mridangam) — got the melody just right with the accompanying rhythm unobtrusively accurate.
Lively recital
Anagha is blessed with an expressive and vivacious personality that adds a sense of joy to her dance. Her bright eyes dart about accentuating her movements and creating a focal point of drama all at once. Her role play is without ambiguity as in the sanchari of Subramanya’s birth in the Poorvikalyani (Adi) varnam ‘Swamiye vara solladi.’
The heroine’s viraha was given due attention just as her beauty was described vividly in the subsequent Ghanam Krishna Iyer padam, ‘Velavare Ummai Thedi’ in Bhairavi.
Anagha’s abhinaya in ‘Idai vida’ where the heroine is hurt and angry over Subramanya’s denial of the obvious, had depth. But Anagha also reveals casualness in the execution of adavus that is of serious concern. She must take the trouble to give every step its due from the beginning stance until its conclusion. Half hearted efforts will not do.
The stylised walk in Bharatanatyam, used for entries, exits and in the ‘sarpa nadai’ also needs to be improved. These deficiencies, if left unattended, will undermine her strengths.
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Friday Review
Bangalore
Chennai and Tamil Nadu
Delhi
Hyderabad
Thiruvananthapuram
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