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Refined It was an interesting experience

She proved herself an accomplished artiste, beyond her age and experience. It was not mere gentle and alluring vinyasas, but also an endearing delicacy and placid tenderness in her expressions. Even the subtle sequences found due representations, made with care and commitment (varna-Behag-Kavalam Narayana Panikkar).

The general tempo desirably remained slow and measured. On such sound foundation she built her artistry in the padam “Poonden Nermozhi” (Ananda Bhairavi-Swathy Tirunal), bringing all the elements into the fold of profound tranquility.

To support her genuine endeavours, the music ensemble comprising Shri Kumar Trichur (vocal), Sudha Peetambaran (nattuvanga), Ajit Kumar (edakka), Venu Kochi (mridanga and maddala) and Mahadevan Kochi (flute), was always in readiness.

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Mridula, with her Kathak, instantly ushered the spectators into the realm of sparkling artistry. Guru Nirupama Rajendra (nattuvanga), Ganesh Desai (vocal), Pravin Rao (tabala) and Shrithi Kamat (sitar) accompanied her.

From the times of Mughal patronage to now, Kathak has evolved. With the stress being on visual appeal now, there is ostensible exuberance of Shringara, the divine union of Krishna and Radha. This was presented using Jayadeva’s ashtapadi, “Lalitha Lavanga”. The artiste has concatenated the dance sequences aesthetically and imaginatively. There was a pronounced gentleness in movements, mystical floating gaits and melting expressions. In her, one could see admirable proficiency in executing footwork and an astounding swiftness in effecting intricate spins (chakkars), precisely arriving at harmonic closes. These feats, not in any way amounting to mechanical demonstrations, maintained continuity between all the sequences, including those that came under the abhinaya category as well (“Chaturang” - Khamach).

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Sowmya presented Bharathanatya on the concluding day of Pallavotsava, accompanied by guru Vasundhara Doraswamy (natuvanga), P. Rama (vocal), Rajesh (flute) and H.L. Shivashankaraswamy (mridanga).

The young artiste is proficient in both areas of nritha and nrithya, animated in the former and impressive in the later. The extent of stretch while describing the vinyasas and the degree of acuity in assuming bhangis are a measure of her expertise in yogic postures.

The concert made significant progress from the second presentation “Ganamurthe” (Ganamurthi-Thyagaraja) onwards.

In “Aadidano Shankara aadidano”, versatility, agility and quick reflexes rendered the pure dance sections attractive. The section featured a series of picturesque postures, brisk thandava adavus, well-framed charis, and gracefully assumed mandalas. Every set of movements was subjected to compact sholkattus by the nattuvanar. In areas warranting abhinaya, the artiste unfolded herself, delving into the depths of refined expressions (navarasas). It was an interesting experience to witness different gatibhedas: gajagati, mayuragati, garudagati, veeragati and so on.

V. NAGARAJ

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