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Appealing manner: Navia Natarajan

After the verse to Padmanabha, she went on to the Sankarabharanam varnam, ‘Manavichaikona.’ Considering this varnam is dedicated to Siva in his aspect of Thanjavur Brihadeeshwara, she might have chosen a sloka or viruttam on Siva in place of Padmanabha, which would have provided a contemplative angle to the varnam rendition. Set to dance by A. Lakshmanan, the varnam contained amusing references to Siva’s accoutrements. According to the lyrics, the nayika in the opening lines appeals to her lord to accede to her request and describes the pain she feels at separation. The choreographer introduced through mudras the idea that the heroine is addressing the Lord, saying, “I sent the moon, the deer and the River Ganga to you as messengers, but you adorned yourself with them instead of accepting my message.” This set the presentation off to a light-hearted start. The jatis were cleanly presented and the tempo of the varnam sustained. In the final jati, in particular that introduced the charanam portion, Navia was impressive for her speed and agility.

In the expressional aspect, though, the combination of coquettishness with devotional mudras, such as meditation, anjali and the like, served to make the bhava unconvincing. The grandeur of the composition of the Thanjavur Quartet that did not come through. As the dancer develops her abhinaya, she may like to remember that in a varnam various fleeting moods can be depicted while maintaining the sthayi bhava. Thus, different approaches can be worked on. Navia’s rendition of the javali, ‘Smarasundaranguni,’ a Dharmapuri Subbarayar composition in Paras, displayed a much better match between the format and the dancer’s tenor. Here she depicted zestfully the nayika who boasts about her unrivalled lord, saying there is no one to match his looks, his feats, his generosity. The concluding tillana in Mand, a Lalgudi Jayaraman composition, was well handled, though some of the high kicks did not suit the grace of the style. The raga was tunefully introduced by flautist Vivek Krishnan. Nattuvangam by Prassana Kumar and mridangam by Janardhan Rao were apt. However, vocal by Balasubramanya Sharma provided more brigas than melody.

The next performance was by Ramya Rajeshkumar, a disciple of K.J. Sarasa. At the outset, Ramya’s involuntary nods of appreciation for the musicians showed she was immersed in the performance as a whole.

Ramya began with an unhurried pushpanjali and the kriti, ‘Gopalaka Pahimam’ in Bhoopalam.

Ramya Rajeshkumar.

Her main presentation was the varnam in Todi, ‘Roopamu Joochi,’ a composition of Muthuswami Dikshitar with the lyrics of the charanam swaras set by Tiger Varadachariar.

The mood of the infatuated heroine was maintained with a teasing familiarity of approach and some telling still postures.

The javali, ‘Appaduru,’ in which a young girl says, “Everyone says he is my lover but he is not,” complaining that her interactions with him are totally innocent but consistently misconstrued by the gossipers, could have been portrayed with more shades.

A complicated percussive pattern was maintained throughout.

The jatis were handled with aplomb by Shaji Lal, under the guidance of Guru Sarasa herself.

Dhananjayan on the mridangam presented effective support and fillers.

Melody was well taken care of by the mellow-voiced Girija Ramaswami, with Sigamani on the violin and Sankaranarayanan on the flute.

With a sweet countenance, Ramya has a pleasant stage presence, but she would benefit by losing a few kg.

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