Spirit of joy
RUPA SRIKANTH
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Naturally expressive, Jyotsna Jagannathan handled emotions well.
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Photo: K. V. Srinivasan
PICTURE PERFECT: Jyotsna Jagannathan.
Picture Perfect’ aptly summarises Dr. Jyotsna Jagannathan’s Bharatanatyam style. Blessed with a light and wiry frame, this dancer makes the best use of it with clinically-perfect steps, good posture, excellent araimandi and clear footwork. Bright-eyed and confident, she has an arresting stage presence. Intentional or not, some gestures like a flick of the head or a quick pirouette come through a la Alarmel Valli.
While she also radiates joy in her dance, there is one thorn that can prick the bubble and that is Jyotsna’s light-footedness. Some steps require stronger footwork and some do not. Jyotsna must see that the contrast in treatment comes through for the full-bodied flavour to get across to the viewer. The azhutham will give her dance more depth as well. Besides being naturally expressive, Jyotsna’s emotive capacity is laced with maturity and restraint. Crucial moments like when Meenakshi and Siva first see each other and fall in love in an instant in the navarasa padavarnam ‘Angayar Kanni’ (ragamalika, Adi, Lalgudi Jayaraman) were captured sensitively. Guided by Bragha Bassel in the Kalanidhi Narayanan-style of mukhabhinaya, this dancer handled the abhisarika nayika who is unfazed by the gossip around her with elan.
Well rehearsed
Especially well-done was the prelude to the padam that set the mood and established the heroine’s nonchalant personality. The team effort in Jyotsna’s recital for Kalapradarshini was excellent; they combined well to create a well-manicured effect in a well-rehearsed repertoire. Hariprasad’s voice was fresh and melodious and his rendering of the beautiful varnam was delectable.
Kalaiarasan (violin) gave him good support. Jyotsna’s teacher and nattuvanar A. Lakshman, intoned the theermanams with authority but the sharp clarity of the cymbals was not as expected. Nellai D. Kannan (mridangam) more than made up with his nimble-fingered drumming. One felt that the musical majesty of the varnam required more consideration in the choreography. There was a disconnect in some of the charana swaras that would have been more effective if the cadences of the music were followed rather than choreographing them as stand alone pieces of crisp nritta.
Jyotsna’s personal story makes interesting copy as well. She is a qualified medical doctor who moved to India from Kenya to study medicine. After qualifying she changed tracks and decided to concentrate on dance. One hopes she finds the cultural journey as fulfilling.
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