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Music Season
INDIAN FINE ARTS SOCIETY
Expression was the highpoint
ANJANA RAJAN
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Srekala’s show had her trademark zest.
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Photo: R. Shivaji Rao
Communicative: Srekala Bharat
Srekala Bharat, who is set to receive the Natya Kala Sikhamani award of The Indian Fine Arts Society in January, gave a Bharatanatyam performance under the Society’s auspices at German Hall the other day. The show was characterised by the zest that is her trademark.
It is in communicative facial expression that Srekala scores, though her brand of abhinaya is unabashedly tilted towards the lokadharmi style. True, very few classical dancers today manage to remain completely stylised in their expressional technique, perhaps because audiences demand a more accessible style that can be comprehended without prior knowledge of mudras and the finer points of the dance style. Srekala, though, brings an air to her presentation that might be described as folksy.
But what remained as a memory to savour from the performance was an abhang, “Sundaratedhyaanam,” a devotional composition in Marathi in praise of Lord Vitthala (Vishnu). It was a good idea to present this composition.
Abhangs, with their rousing music and colourful allusions to the experiences the Lord bestows on his devotees, lend themselves to dance choreography. The abhang, set to raga Yaman Kalyan, began with the depiction of the compassionate Vitthala, who was willing to wait like an ordinary visitor as His devotee fulfilled his filial duties. It was in the line describing Vitthala’s makara earrings, garland, etc., that the dancer created rasa. The charged devotional mood of the song came out well. It was a welcome moment.
In the nritta department, Srekala tends to ride roughshod over the lines, planes and angles of Bharatanatyam. Right from her starting anjali piece, through her invocation to Ganesha, “Ananda Nartana Ganapatim Bhavaye,” to her varnam in Sankarabharanam (Dandayudhapani Pillai’s “Sakhiye Inda Jaalam”), one was needled by the thought that Bharatanatyam as we recognise it today was getting a raw deal from someone bestowed with the intelligence, stamina, and quality training under Guru K.J.Sarasa — not to mention a pleasing appearance — to raise it to heights. If footwork can be heard sharply, it is not matched by firm postures. If the mudras are cleanly held, the arms are consistently loose. In executing footwork that requires the araimandi posture, there is not enough tightness of the pelvic muscles to keep the body from bobbing up and down.
While Srekala has good choreographic and musical ideas, the lapses detract distressingly from a performance labelled Bharatanatyam.
The orchestra was an asset to the evening. S. Srilatha, who provided nattuvangam, came alive during the varnam, when her resounding jati recitation floored the audience. Accuracy of syllables, confidence and power marked her presentation. K.R.Venkatasubramanian on the mridangam provided good support, though the volume was often too high. Vocalist Vidya Srinivasan’s singing was a pleasure. Her ragam and niraval singing are pleasing, but she can brush up her pronunciation of languages like Sanskrit. Violin by V. Muruganandam was apt.
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