Orchestra vies for honours
RUPA SRIKANTH
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The accompaniment was as sparkling as Sridharini's dance.
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SRIDHARANI SREEDHARAN
It would be unfair to the young collegian to say that the orchestra stole her thunder, but it did hog a lot of attention. Guided by Guru Revathi Ramachandran who conducted the Bharatanatyam programme with effortless authority, the ensemble starring Sashidharan as vocalist, was as responsive as it was skilled. Sashidharan's effort to enrich the repetitive sahitya phrases as is required in dance was remarkable and so was his expressive rendition. M.K. Kesavan on the mridangam and Kalaiarasan on the violin were also impressive in their musical support.
Sridharani Sreedharan mirrored the same confidence and calm. The teacher, who is well known for her virtuosity in rhythm, has tutored Sridharini well in the area. Her adavus packed in a lot of energy, and surprisingly, the rigour of their execution did not interfere with their inherent grace. Her role-play was restrained and precise as well.
Sridharini breezed through a fast-paced Dhanyasi varnam, "Nee Inda Maayam," a composition of Papanasam Sivan in Adi talam. As expected, the varnam leaned more towards the rhythmic aspects, the theermanams akin to firework displays of beat and movement in chatusram, tisram and khandam gatis. The composition of steps with the addition of quick pirouettes in the tisra gati theermanam was particularly exciting. Though a brisk pace always adds momentum to a performance, it can only be at the cost of proper finishing of steps. This is what happened at the charanam portion of the varnam. The almost doubling of speed applied the brake on the dancer's ability. Cope she did, but finesse was missing. The araimandi stance was almost absent too.
Swami Dayanand Saraswathi's "Bo Shambo" in Revathi ragam, Adi talam, and Ambujam Krishna's "Om Namo Narayana" in Karnaranjani ragam, Khanda chapu talam, are both beautiful musical compositions and were rendered with feeling by Sashidharan. Both being devotional pieces, they did not pose much of a challenge to the dancer. Sridharini is mature enough to handle meatier pieces and ought to be given an opportunity to try.
Dr. Balamuralikrishna's Brindavani tillana in Adi talam brought the curtain down on a well-rehearsed programme.
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