Friday Review
Bangalore
Chennai and Tamil Nadu
Delhi
Hyderabad
Thiruvananthapuram
Of meditative quality
|
Nataraja with eyes looking downwards with compassion was a nice change from the usual aggressive postures. ANJANA RAJAN
|
As the curtains went up on Urmila Sathyanarayanan’s Bharatanatyam performance, the calm, contained singing of Swamimalai S.K.Suresh imbued the evening with a prayerful mood. Urmila began with a brisk pushpanjali in Bahudari, which led into Ach
utha Dasa’s Bahudari composition, “Sadananda Tandavam.”
Photo: V.Ganesan
Serene: Urmila Satyanarayanan.
After the energetic movement of the pushpanjali, the Tandava got off to a still start. Urmila gave a meditative quality to many of her Nataraja postures, eyes looking downwards with compassion. This was a nice change from the usual aggressive Nataraja postures one sees.
A fine Khamas alap by flautist T. Sashidhar and violinist N. Sigamani introduced the swarajati, “Maa Mohalahiri,” whose lyrics are by Kadigai Namasivaya Pulavar and music set by Subbarama Dikshitar.
Urmila did justice to the emotions of the lovelorn heroine even as she relished the nritta segments, with jaati variations and high speed nritta. While Urmila’s nritta is neat and agile, there was a lack of sideways bending that detracted from the look.
Sustained abhinaya
Urmila created the classical image of the abhisarika nayika, setting off to meet her lover — in this case, Muruga. Wrapped in a shawl the colour of the night, the nayika sets off for a secret tryst. Urmila evoked the mood with sustained abhinaya, depicting the nayika walking nervously through the forest, now confronted by a snake slithering past, now frozen in fear at the sight of a tiger.
Since the picture of the girl in the dark forest was successfully created, however, one felt she did not need to keep the hand in katakamukha representing the shawl throughout the scene. In the pitch dark forest, when the lamp too has been extinguished by a gust of wind, one would have thought there was no need for the time being to veil her face.
In the charanam line, where, characteristically in a swarajati, graceful adavus are interspersed with the lyrics, Urmila kept up cross rhythms that did not, however, interfere with the soothing flow of the refrain. Gentle mridangam by Nellai D. Kannan enhanced the dance.
In the javali “Sarasamulade,” a composition of Ramanathapuram Srinivasa Iyengar in Kapi, Urmila depicted a nayika who is accosted by Krishna in the midst of all her relatives. She tells him this is not the time or place for his overt display of affection.
With a winsome smile, she was adept at putting across the person who says ‘yes’ while ostensibly saying ‘no.’ However, showing the lovers embracing by wrapping her own arms around her body took the magic out of the rendition, making it literal rather than poetic. Abhinaya, afterall, thrives on suggestion.
The extract from Andal which she added impromptu to the show was well choreographed. The exchange of wedding garlands, the couple on the swing and the two flying off mounted on Garuda were memorable cameos.
Wrapping up with a tillana in Tilang, a composition of Lalgudi Jayaraman, Urmila, whose unaffected compering is pleasing, drew fond applause as she announced that she had performed her arangetram on the very same stage exactly 32 years previously.
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Friday Review
Bangalore
Chennai and Tamil Nadu
Delhi
Hyderabad
Thiruvananthapuram
|
