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Photos: S. Mahinsha

poetry in motion: Hiromi Maruhashi

Vinitha Nedungadi

The festival began with a recital by Hiromi Maruhashi, a Mohiniyattom danseuse from Japan. She began with a cholkettu in praise of Lord Shiva, Vishnu and Saraswathi in raga Malika. A varnam in raga Thodi and ‘Aaaj aye syam mohane,’ a Swati Tirunal composition in raga Yamunakalyani followed. Hiromi excelled in the presentation of an Ashtapadi, which was well received by the audience .

Vinitha Nedungadi transported the audience to the magical world of rain with her presentation of ‘Varshamohini,’ her latest choreography that was premiered in Palakkad in March this year. Vinitha outlined the ‘nava rasas’ of rain that was combined with a graceful combination of mudras.

Smitha Rajan

Beginning with rain drops that expressed ‘adbutha’ (wonder), Vinitha’s dance was magical. Passing through the different stages of rasas, it finally rained gently showcasing the rasa ‘santha’ (serenity).

Vinitha smoothly portrayed the beautiful emotions of the rain accompanied by instrumental music composed by well-known vainika Ananthapadmanabhan in ragas such as Amrithvarshini, Meghmalhar, Jayajayavanthi, Rasikapriya, Marubihag and Sucharitha. The ‘akaralapana’ by Kottakkal Madhu was the only vocal part of the presentation. She concluded the repertoire with a ‘thiruseva’ in raga Bhagesri.

Granddaughter of the legendary couple Kalamandalam Krishnan Nair and Kalamandalam Kalyanikutty Amma, Smitha Rajan, who performed on the third day of the festival, has inherited the grace and poise of the art form.

The invocatory piece in raga Malayamarutha was followed by an abhinaya piece ‘Nrityanjali’ in raga Hindola in which Smitha portrayed the navarasas of Devi Parvathi on different occasions. She then moved on to a padam in raga Kedaragaula, depicting King Shudhodana’s moments with his newborn, which was excerpted from ‘Sreebudhacharitham,’ a ballet by Balasubramanyam.

Among the many highlights of her performance was a padam written by Kalamandalam Kalyanikutty Amma depicting the sakhi’s description of her visit to Krishna. This was written as a reply to her own padam in which the nayika talks to her sakhi. Smitha’s ability to emote the nuances of the theme made the performance a treat.

Kapila.

The concluding piece ‘Ardhanareeswara nritta’ finely portrayed Lord Shiva’s dance after ‘Thripurdahanam.’ On the concluding day, a performance by Kapila, who represents the promising younger generation of artistes, was full of exuberance. She has already created a niche for herself . Her performance began with a piece from ‘Soundaryalahari’ in which the navarasas of Devi are portrayed.

The crème de la crème of the evening was a varnam written by her mother and guru, Nirmala Panickar, showcasing the navarasas of Lord Shiva through different tales. This number in raga Ritigaula was set to Adi tala. She concluded with a ‘mangalam’ eulogising Lord Padmanabha.

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