BHARATIYA VIDYA BHAVAN
Told with punch and precision
ANJANA RAJAN
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Powerful dancing marked `Ardhanariswarar Kuravanji' presented by Roja, Priya and Lavanya.
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PHOTO: E. LAKSHMI NARAYANAN.
HIGH ENERGY: Roja Kannan, Priya Murle and Lavanya Ananth.
Dancers of Chennai presented a little-known Kuravanji Natakam, the `Ardhanariswarar Kuravanji,' at the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan auditorium recently. The production, with music scored by S.Rajeswari, was choreographed by Roja Kannan, a disciple of Adyar Lakshmanan and Kalanidhi Narayanan.
Roja played the role of the Kurathi, while the heroine, Mohanangi, was played by Priya Murle, groomed in Bharatanatyam by Sudharani Raghupathy. The heroine's sakhi was played by Lavanya Ananth, a disciple of the late S.K.Rajaratnam Pillai. These three held the first part of the presentation together with their strong dancing and high energy.
The fourth main role was that of the Kuravan, or Kurathi's husband, which was performed by N. Srikanth, trained under Padma Subrahmanyam. Roja's students, of varying standards, performed the group scenes. Authored by Poongothai, this is reportedly the only known Kuravanji by a woman. The music was evocative, with a choice of ragas at once familiar and apt for the various moods of the play.
The strong team of accompanists, especially vocalist Nandini Anand, who was the mainstay, and versatile percussionist K.S.R.Anirudha, who played the mridangam, the cymbals and a few special effects, was an asset. M.S.Kannan on the violin and P. Sashidhar on the flute provided melodic fillers. While the music composition was good, there could have been better distribution of work between the musicians. This would have provided a more mellifluous hearing experience and added depth. With everyone busy all the time, some of the finer points were lost, as it were, in the juggernaut.
This was in a sense true of the dance composition too. The lead dancers showed their prowess in both nritta and abhinaya, drawing enthusiastic applause, supported by Sashirekha Balasubramaniam who recited jathis with punch and precision, but there were no moments of quietude.
The uplifting theme of Kuravanjis, where the heroine is assured of being united with her lord and praised as a divine consort by the Kurathi, as well as the Kurathi's own pivotal character as a soothsayer living close to nature, with a deep devotion to the Almighty, became diluted in the prolonged scene showing her haggling for gifts. The remaining sense of decorum was lost during her exchanges with Srikanth, whose prodigious talent seemed dedicated to making his character look like a buffoon.
Tribal characters need not be divested of all dignity. The audience lapped it up, but one wonders, if Chennai audiences are renowned for their knowledge and receptivity, should such highly gifted dancers experiment with raising the bar or lowering it?
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