Friday Review
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Chennai and Tamil Nadu
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Thiruvananthapuram
BRAHMA GANA SABA
Pure Balasaraswati style
USHA RAMDAS
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Precision and competence marked Sushama’s performance; it was a riveting presentation from Arunima.
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Photos: K.V. Srinivasan
SOPHISTICATION: Sushama Ranganathan.
Bharathanatyam, as we know it today, has evolved so much, that many contemporary dancers can only have heard or read about the way it was performed in the early days of its transition onto the stage. With the accent so strongly nowadays on presentati
on, lighting, etc, one doesn’t often get to see an old world, “no-frills” performance. Sushama Ranganathan’s performance for the Brahma Gana Sabha was one such.
Daughter and disciple of Nandini Ramani, who is herself a student of Balasaraswati, Sushama is petite, slender and light on her feet. Her performance was completely without pretension and steeped in the traditional style she follows. She chose to do the Thanjavur quartet varnam “Mohamana en meedhu” as her central piece. The nritta sequences were performed with a very high degree of precision and competence.
Sushama’s interpretation of the line “nagarigamana thirunagaril” created a wholesome picture of sophistication. With her neat adavus and sound technique, a little less restraint in her abhinaya would enhance her performance even more.
An unusual feature of the varnam was that the singers continued to sing during the jathis as well. Post varnam, Sushama danced to the padham, “nidhiraiyil, swapnathil” where the nayika narrates her dream to her sakhi, and then to a quaint kurathi song “kudisai vaithu.” The Sankarabharanam tillana was another composition of the Thanjavur Quartet. The korvais composed in the various nadais by nattuvanar K. Ganesan were delightful. Once again, Sushama was in effortless sync with the rhythm.
The well-synchronised and elaborate orchestra had K. Ramaiah wielding the cymbals. He was assisted by Suresh, himself a dancer. Vocal support was shared by Sarayu Srinivasan and Sri Balaji. Venkat Subramanian provided the percussion support, while the flute was played by Ramanna.
Arunima Kumar.
Pretty and eloquent, Arunima Kumar has a pleasing stage presence and an endearing way of announcing the items. Clearly delighted to be performing for the first time in Chennai, Arunima started her performance with Pranavakara, an invocation to Ganesha. This item took up the story of Ganeshas creation and the subsequent fitting of the elephant head on to His body, for elaboration.
While Arunima’s poses of Ganesha were studied and neat, some of the movements in this invocatory number were somewhat exaggerated, even after allowing for the sensuousness inherent in the Kuchipudi tradition. The Ardhanareeshwara that followed, brought out the contrast in the way the two halves of His body are adorned. Perhaps the thandava and lasya aspects could have been a little more strikingly differentiated in the nritta as well. The tiger skin over the right shoulder was a nice touch. In the Abhinaya section, which is clearly her forte, Arunima presented Vani Pondhu and a Meera Bhajan. The khanditha nayika of the first song was portrayed with élan. One needs to switch emotions rapidly while moving from the nayaka, with whom she is angry, to the sakhi, to whom she is complaining.
The Meera Bhajan, ‘Main savaro ki rang rachi,’ was performed elegantly in the introductory bit and in the passages showing Meera as a princess. Meera’s rescue by Krishna after being made to consume poison also came across very well. Arunima concluded her performance with a Sivatarangam. It contained a jugalbandhi with the nattuvangam and the percussion and, of course, the dancer on the plate.
Arunima held the audience with her stylised performance, so much so that the smoke machine was a distraction! The programme was conducted by guru Jayarama Rao, who had also choreographed the dances. The nuances in Vidya Srinivas’s melodious music enhanced the bhava in the dance and viruthams. Percussion support was ably provided by Srinivas and Arun Karthik on the violin and Devraj on the flute provided the melody.
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Friday Review
Bangalore
Chennai and Tamil Nadu
Delhi
Hyderabad
Thiruvananthapuram
|
