Setting rhythm to lyrics
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The Kuchipudi and Kathak recitals were a treat at the SICA fest held recently.
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Aesthetic elegance Dancers Deepika Reddy
Deepika Reddy always tries to go for new ideas to blend them into her dance format. As part of SICA’s dance festival presented last week, Deepika chose a few kirtanas of Thyagaraja and set them in an order to bring out the Bhakti element in Thyagaraja. They were all concert pieces that vocalist usually chose. She launched her show with a popular kirtana on Ganapathi – Sri Ganapathini in Sourashtram, she picked out of the musical ballet Prahlada Bhaktivijayam of Thygaraja. She used it as invocation piece to the God of obstacles, which she presented along with her disciples. In the end Deepika struck the posture of Vinayaka with a small girl bending at her feet representing mushika (rat).
In between she went through many sancharis she created that describe Lord’s benevolence.
Then she went for Sambho Mahadeva in Panthuvarali. After the rendition of pallavi she danced to the rhythm of the syllables. And at the line Sambho Mahadeva Saranagatha Rakshaka sung in nereval format, Deepika narrated the story of Markandeya.
The next number was Vinayakuni vale Brovave in Madhyamavati that Thyagaraja wrote when he visited Kanchi Kamakshi temple. In presenting this, Deepika came out with good abhinaya at the line Angaranga Vaibhogamu.
Her picturesque posturing of Devi was quite appealing and two other girls added to the impact of dances.
Photos: K. Ramesh Babu and H. Satish
Mangala Bhatt.
Endaro Mahanubhavulu in Sriragam and the Patiki Mangalaharati in Arabhi set in her repertoire, concluded the show. D. S. V. Sastry rendered all these compositions with right kind of expression, pausing at right moments and doing nereval giving space for Abhinaya was laudable. D. V. Narayanamurthy conducted the show to the apt mridangam support by K.Rajagopalacharya. Saikumar on violin, Murali on flute and Srikanth providing percussion effects gave good orchestral appeal. Surabhi Poornachander’s light and sound effects too elevated the drama.
The other dancers in the group were Srinivas, Mihira, Pooja, Manjushree Srinivasa Sreya, Pragjna, Kameswari and Tejaswi.
Grace, refinement & vigour
Mangala Bhatt of Akruthi Kathak Kendra was featured on the penultimate day. Mangala, of course, was the cynosure of all eyes not only because she is exquisitely graceful but also as her dance numbers are a rarity. Her style combined a restrained refinement and vigour all along.
Mangala divided her brief repertoire into two parts, abhinaya and footwork numbers. The abhinaya oriented narrative was on godly themes.
Mangala opened with a number paying obeisance to Lord Vinayaka, Ganesha Vandanam.
Then she went for Siva Panchakshari Sutram with six syllables in Om Namah Sivaya in praise of Lord Siva, a Nataraja Himself, presenting two aspects of His life, one
His non-materialistic attitude smeared with ash and then Nataraja, whose cosmic dance sustains the whole of the cosmos.
Each sloka rendered starts with one syllable of the Panchakshari presented in 12 beats, which she learned from Durgadas, who wrote the lyrics and choreographed. This was especially composed in ragas like Bhoopali, Bageswari, Sankara and so on.
The abhinaya she presented for each of these slokas was with fine nuances, with footwork and expression simultaneously. She then presented a brisk footwork piece for a rare 11 matras (beats) under the title Ashta Mangala, combining elegance with aesthetics, characterised by difficult rhythmic work.
On this occasion, her disciples, Sowmya, Lakshmi and Priya also took part in group dances.
G.S
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