|
Entertainment
Rare and refreshing
Prabha Dixit... enjoyable depiction
IT WAS a refreshing performance by Prabha Dikshit, a disciple of Sudharani Raghupathi in the dance series of Sri Parthasarathy Swami Sabha recently. Sudharani had drawn up an interesting fare that made Prabha's recital quite impressive. It was lively to see Prabha dance some rare numbers like the Navasandhi compositions that Sudharani, dancer with a rich repertoire of the Thanjavur Quartette, had chosen to impart. These invaluable items that Sudharani has imbibed from none other than Thanjavur K. P. Kittappa Pillai, were presented with their innate grandeur and beauty in tact. Prabha's depiction of the Navasandhi pieces, focussing on Isaana and Vayu were enjoyable.
Prabha has a charming stage presence. Her bright, mobile face could bring out skilfully the details of the abhinaya aspects appropriately. She maintained good control and confidence throughout the recital. However, the posture and the execution of the Nritta aspects seemed to require more firmness and the entire physical frame needs to be tightened up for achieving more perfection and precision.
A striking feature in Prabha's recital was the ease with which she could depict the ideas without any dramatisation or exaggeration. Generally such young artistes tend to diligently reproduce what has been taught. It is not easy to imagine and interpret ideas. But Prabha was quite different and her ability to manage this area was noteworthy.
The major number was the Navaragamalika, ``Sami Ninne" of the Quartette. Priya Murle,senior disciple of Sudharani, who conducted the recital was in complete control over the technical sections of this Varnam. Her recitation of the crisp theermanams was enjoyable, although Asokan, in charge of the audio could have taken better care of the mike which was too loud, in a way marring the beauty of the recitation. Prabha's involvement and hard work was evident in this item. However, the elaboration of the opening line of the Varnam was quite general in character and did not focus on the form or beauty of the Lord. Similarly, ``Prema Meeraga" and ``Thanjapurivaasa" were not fully explored. Also, ``Sri Bruhadeeswara" was not handled with the all-pervading glories of the deity, except by showing the huge form of the Lingamurti. With a better approach, a talented youngster like Prabha would have had an opportunity to shine even more. However, Prabha gave a lively depiction for ``Mati Matiki," where she could express beautifully the glories of the Lord. The swara passage in Bhairavi preceding ``Satileni" was presented with a lot of spirit and joy. But after the tempo sagged. Nandini Anand,the main vocalist sang well. But most of the time she sang with her eyes closed and did not maintain visual contact with the dancer which is vital for a performance. She, however, looked up when she sensed a lack of coordination particularly with the mridangam accompaniment. With due credit to Aniruddhan's innovative, skilful drumming for dance, it must be mentioned that quite often his dramatic technique, especially at the commencement of the theermanams, was quite distracting. More so for the vocalist. In fact, at quite a few places there was a lack of synchronisation between the vocalist and the mridangist.
The post-Varnam part had two Tamil compositions - Chinna Chinna Padam, describing the charm of child Krishna and Sivakamasundari, addressing Mother-Goddess. Prabha's communication was delightful. Vijayaraghavan, violinist, provided melodious strokes. His short sketch of the Ragamalika preceding the varnam was enjoyable.
At the same venue, the earlier evening, Muralidharan and Chitra presented their dance-ballet, Tirumangai Azhvar, an interesting venture on the life of the saint-poet, whose early life, his transformation, and his devotional outpourings in praise of Lord Vishnu. Muralidharan had adopted a simple yet effective depiction of the story, in which the couple played the lead roles (Neelan-Tirumangai Azhwar and Kumudavalli). Without any stage props, the ballet sailed smoothly through the different scenes. However the dance technique was mediocre. Prominent professional dancers like Narendra Kumar had played a vital role in the making of this production, a notable effort in some contexts. Students of Muralidharan also participated in the ballet.
Kutralam Nagarajan, main vocalist, sang well and had employed apt ragas for the different situations. The female voice did not impress much. An excellent digital recording of the music and commmentary gave enough strength to this dance narration of a devotional theme.
NANDINI RAMANI
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Entertainment
|
