Swabhaavam - Expression of self!

Ardhanari stotram

2011-11-19T05:00:00.010+05:30

This post is about the "Ardhanari stotram" composed by Adi shankarAchArya bhagavadpAda that begins with the lines "Champeya Gaurardha..". Here are three videos of the same piece performed by different dancers..

First one is the one by Mythili Prakash and Kasi Aysola of Shakthi Dance company, LA. (See from 3:08)

The second one is by Thiruchelwam and Shivani Thakkar

The last one is by MP Jinakaraj and Aparna Sharma of Shankarananda Kalakshetra, Hyderabad.

What I found interesting was the fact that all the three choreographers chose a very similar way to depict ardhanariswara. The same stotram, the duo standing one behind the other, and even similar adavus. Several questions arise in my mind.. Is this the only way to depict ardhanariswara? Is one of these inspired by the others? Or were the choreographers totally independent in their thought process without any influence of the others' works? Thinking....!!

Thoughts on the dance season 2010-11

2011-02-14T10:33:00.070+05:30

I was in Chennai for over a month ( 22nd Dec to 26th Jan) and not a single day passed without attending a Bharatanatyam concert! There was so much happening and there were times when I had a real tough time in deciding where to go. But at the end, I think I saw almost all the dancers I wanted to see. Each recital in the season was a learning experience for me. Learnt what to do from some and what not from others.. Opinions in this post reflect only my views! Also, they are not meant to be offensive.

One very important thing I learnt is that how good or bad a show is, could be very subjective. What is good to one may not appeal to another. It depends a lot on the viewer's mindset and his/her personal preferences. Alarmel Valli is a very good example.! Quite a few of my friends are not big fans of her dance. But many others including me, do enjoy her chin-up, below-the-hip paani! Similarly, every dancer has a good or a bad day depending on his/her stamina, mindset, health condition and also most importantly depending on support from the orchestra.

Another important thing dancers must know is to present research in their thematic productions. Roja Kannan's "Thyaga Rahasyam - the search for the blue lotus" was very neatly spun around Tiruvarur Thyagesa's ardent devotee Manonmani. The narration (conversations between the parivattam thuni and Manonmani) was very well done with Roja akka doing the kais for them. The loose adherence to the margam format was also appreciable.

Smt. Roja Kannan in Thyaga Rahasyam (Pic courtesy: The Hindu)

On the other hand, another thematic presentation that I went to, made me feel like I was in a history class with LOADS of information dumped on me through the narration. The bad music and the unappealing choreography added to the woes. Talking of research, I have to mention Padmabhushan Swapna Sundari! The pada varnam in darbar, khanda jati ata talam that she performed at Karthik fine arts was the find of the season. She had found the varnam from manuscripts in the Saraswathi Mahal library! She is an amazing artiste and held the audience with her humorous portrayals through the varnam.

Another memorable recital was that of Priya Murle at the NGS mini hall. I went with a lot of expectations and wasn't let down at all! She amazed everyone including her guru Prof. Sudharani with her abhinayam pieces. She proved that she wasn't just another dancer with her handling of the ananda bhairavi varnam and the padams (Yaarukkaagilum bayama and Krishna Nee begane baro).

With Smt. Priya Murle after her show for Karthik Fine Arts

The 2 pm slots at NGS were a real challenge to every performer. The audience had just the ideal conditions (a/c hall, full stomach, not very crowded audi with empty seats on either side) to fall asleep if the artiste wasn't good enough! Some dancers like Shijith and Smt.Parvathy, Narthaki Nataraj, Jyotsna Jagannathan and others managed to keep the crowd awake and attentive! Shijith Nambiar and Parvathy Shijith's show at NGS was one of the best I had been to this season! The varnam sancharis were brilliantly choreographed and the reach was so effective that there was a huge round of applause during each "eduppu". Narthaki's approach (specially to abhinaya) was very refreshing. I felt the old-world charm in her dance and enjoyed the show. Smt. Jyotsna, in her show at NGS, exhibited mastery over the technique and an impeccable sense of thaalam.

Another brilliant show in the 2pm NGS slot was Smt. Ramya Ramnarayan's Lalgudi-yin Lavanya Margam. The orchestra was AWESOME and the music moved almost everyone in the audience. Smt. Lalgudi Viji on the vocals and violin did a tremendous job! Shri. Lalgudi's angayarkanni varnam was beautifully rendered, specially the last swaram in sahana was so pleasing and melting. The orchestra was so good that the Panchali Sabadham piece saw a tear filled Ramya on stage.The thillana medley (Tillang-yamankalyani-senjurutti i think..) was a phenomenal treat to the ears. The review of the show can be read here.

The only show I could go to at Bharath Kalachar was Smt. Anitha Guha's Mahadevam Mahasenam Bhaje. It was probably not a very good place to see a group production but I had no choice as I had missed all the other shows and this was the last one. Kalaimamani Smt. Revathy Sankaran was the compere as is the case for any group production of Bharathanjali trust. Kum. Sathvikaa Shankar, Kum. Janane Sethunarayanan and Kum. Medha Hari stood out from the rest of the group. Shri. Pavithra Bhat made a lasting impression too! There was tremendous coordination as any other group production of Smt. Anitha Guha always has.

Smt. Anitha Guha's Mahadevam Mahasenam Bhaje (Pic courtesy: Dr. Mohan C Mohan, More pictures here)

The production had short episodes on Lord Shiva and Lord Muruga. The proud guru said she had given opportunities to more than 70 kids throughout the season through this production, which, is one of her old productions that she rechoreographed for the season. I somehow liked her padakavitha pithamaha better! When I told her this she said "The audience always like my venkatachalapathy productions more than Shiva's". A long talk with her on her old productions and my favorite moments in them made her very happy! :D Click here to read the show's review. On the other hand, I did not find the time to make it to Smt. Sheela Unnikrishnan's production on Thirukkural. :( But I heard it was good! I also got to see Meenakshi Kalyanam by Dr. Padma this season!

Shri Brahma Gana Sabha had a good line-up of dancers featuring both veterans and upcoming artistes. On the evening of Jan 1st, Kum.Mythili Prakash's was too good. She showcased her perfect nritta and subtle abhinaya. Her nritta was spot-on. No mistakes whatsoever. There couldn't have been a better beginning to my new year.

Smt. Lakshmi Viswanathan and Smt.Bragha Bessel also performed at BGS's dance festival. Both of them were out of the world! Lakshmi Viswanathan is extremely knowledgeable. She introduced each of the pieces that she performed in great detail. All pieces she performed were by Tanjore composers to celebrate the 1000th year of Tanjore big temple. Adhuvum solluval and Thaaye yeshodha brimmed with details! Smt.Chitrambari and the other vocalist deserve a special mention. She received a seattu request (not very common in dance recitals) asking her to perform Enthade Kulukke Javali and she accepted to!

Selvan SaiSanthosh, Kum. Gayathri, Myself and Kum. Kavitha Ramu with Ms. Lakshmi Viswanathan and the Pandanallur dancers

Smt.Bragha's show was a class apart from the many of the other shows I saw during the season! Her Ksetrayya padam left the audience tear-filled. The swathi thirunal padam she performed was very refreshing. In that piece, Lord Padmanabha comes to woo a small girl. The girl asks the Lord to go away and come back when she grows big so that she would be able to satisfy the lord's desires. Hardly anyone walked out during the 90 minute performance which consisted of only abhinayam pieces, which itself is an accomplishment in Chennai. A review of both their performances by Smt.Leela Venkatraman can be read here.

Other full length abhinayam recitals that I went to, were the ones at Abhinaya Sudha (early in the season) in Chandralekha's Spaces. I saw Padmabhsuhan Swapna Sundari, Smt.Bragha Bessel and Shri N.Srikanth there. Shri N.Srikanth depicted vaatsalyam-sringaram-bhakthi. His sringaram was easily the best piece of the evening. He took the saranam of the Navaragamalika Varnam by Shri KND and elaborated it beautifully!

Smt.Priyadarsini Govind also performed at Brahma Gana Sabha. All of you know about her, so I'm not writing much here! I was impressed by her body control. She also has a good sense of positioning on stage. Shri KND's Mohamaaginen varnam, purvi thillana and a piece on kadhirkaaman deity in Srilanka in Hamir Kalyani were some of the items she performed that evening.

Smt.Aishwarya Ananth, Kum.Aishwarya Narayanaswamy, Ms. Bhargavi Gopalan, Kum.Kavitha Ramu and Ms.Uma.B.Ramesh also did a commendable job in their shows at BGS! Mrs. Leela Venkatraman's review of Ms. Uma . B . Ramesh's show is here and Aishwarya Ananth's review from Indian Express is here.

Kum. Aarabhi Badri, Selvan Bhavajan Kumar, Selvan Ganesh Vasudeva, Kum.Gayathri Rajaji, Selvan Kiran Rajagopalan, Kum.Nrithya Pillai, Kum. Sivasri Iyer, Kum.Suchitra Ramaswamy and Kum.Sumithra Subramaniam are a few other young artistes whom I managed to see during the season. All of them were very promising and I look forward to seeing more of them in the future. (Most of them are good friends of mine and I don't think it would be fair enough for me to say nice things about them! :))

Smt. Radhika Shurajit's Muthamizh Maalai was a very laid-back watch. No jarring nritta, no fast movements, pleasing costumes, beautiful patterns on stage made it a very nice viewing experience. Read the review of the show here.

Krishna Gana Sabha, to my knowledge, was the only Sabha that offered concession to students. I would be happy if other Sabhas followed suite. The moment a rasika pays for watching a show, he/she starts juding the show based on its worthiness for the amount paid, which I don't think is healthy! I also attended the first day of the Natyakala conference and was spell bound by Kalakshetra repertory's demonstration. Leela akka hosted the show so beautifully! The most surprising part of the day was the end when three students presented their research work! Here is a report by Ms. Lalitha Venkatraman.

Narada Natya vizha (by Shri Swamimalai S.K. Suresh) featured some excellent performers and performances. Shri. Shankar Kandasamy and Kum.Shobhana's group were the best of them. Both of them displayed their talents as choreographers. Shankar anna's varnam had some neat portrayals. He supposedly had a sprained ankle and the ones watching him had no clue! Shobhana's post varnam pieces were a visual treat. Her student Anooropitha stood out from the others in terms of stage presence and clarity in presentation. On the last day Smt.Urmila Sathyanarayan and her students performed Panchali Sabadham set to music by Shri Lalgudi Jayaraman, which was a good effort overall.

I also watched Padmabhushan Alarmel Valli at the music academy! Being a big fan, I did go with a lot of expectations and it was quite not the Valli I was hoping to see. I am guessing she was sick that day. Her sangam poetry was awesome as always. She depicted the woes of a mother who went in search of her daughter who had eloped with another guy. She had complete control over her orchestra and the piece was really nice. Her nritta, that day, was not as it always is! I am guessing she was sick? But valli is always valli!!! :)

Smt. Janaki Rangarajan at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan (for Kalapradarsini) gave a neat performance. I also managed to catch the only show of Anusham during the season. Shri Narendra is an exceptional performer and he proved it again that day!

The singers and the other accompanists were busier than the dancers themselves during the season. My favorite vocalists were Shri.G.Srikanth, Shri.Hariprasad, Smt. Nandini Anand Sharma and Smt.Preethy Mahesh. Kalaimamani T.K.Padmanabhan, Shri.Kandadevi Vijayaraghavan and Shri.G.Kalaiarasan - violinists; Shri.Nellai Kannan and Shri.Dhananjayan - Mridangam, and Shri Sasidhar on flute were really supportive to all artists they accompanied.

Sometimes more than the kutcheris, the discussion about it in the canteen turned out to be more informative and interesting. I spent hours with my friends in the canteen and parking area discussing dance and dancers. One of the most memorable sessions was one with Shri Kishore Mosalikanti. He talked about music for dance and how important it is to treat orchestra members with respect, because they are the ones who support the dancer on stage.

A talk session with Smt. Radhika Shurajit and her students for Deccan chronicle and Dr.Padma's interview for NDTV Hindu's Keys and conversations with Anil Srinivasan were memorable. It is nice to listen to what people who have made it big, have to say..

Coming to the food.. Whats the season without the sabha canteens? Gnanambika caterers totally rocked..! Their friday lunches (paruppu podi, urulai kaarakari, keera kootu and a looottt of other items) and melagukozhambu + roast totally are to die for! Karpagambal mess is not like what it used to be 2 years back. Service has become horrible and prices have doubled. Their nei mundhiri cake was heavenly though!

Gnanambika caterers at NGS Pic courtesy: The Hindu

Two of my favorites who did not perform this season. Padmashri Prof.Sudharani Raghupathy and Padmashri Leela Samson! My season would have been complete if I had seen them on stage. The last time i saw Prof. Sudharani was at Shruthi's office. It was a life-time experience! Leela akka is simplicity personified. When she came to watch Bragha akka at BGS, she was asked to sit in the front. She simply refused and preferred to sit in one of the back rows and remain unnoticed!

With Prof. Sudharani and Leela akka

There is a lot of mediocrity in the field. Some of the youngsters, I think, are in a urge to come to the stage without knowing if they really deserve to be there and also handle the pressure! A lot of dancers do a neat show without any mistakes, but there are no "Wow (Sabaash) moments". When you get back home and think there is hardly anything about the show you can recollect. But on the whole, it was a very fulfilling and fun-filled season! I am already looking forward to the next!

I'm back!!

2010-12-18T07:02:00.002+05:30

Hey all..

I am going to be in Chennai again for this season.. So im hoping to blog about the season and shows that I attend.. Just can't wait to get back to "Margazhi Manam Kamazhum Madras".. :)

Arangetrams..

2009-06-23T01:22:00.004+05:30

While i was reading through the posts in narthaki.com, i came across this page in which a couple of people have expressed their views on Arangetrams. The views are hilarious but extremely thought provoking! I completely agree to what those people have said! While there are a few gurus who still believe in the sanctity of the Arangetram there are many who just look at it as a means of making money! To make things worse, the relatives and the chief guests praise the artiste, even if his/her dance isn't really praiseworthy! This gives the artiste (most of the times aged between 10 - 16) a high and a sense of accomplishment, while they actually haven't done anything commendable! Quite depressing!!! :( :(

An interesting article!

2009-06-15T01:28:00.002+05:30

Read the article by Smt.Gowri Ramnarayan written way back in 1999 at http://www.hinduonnet.com/folio/fo9812/98120060.htm and share your thoughts on it please! :)

Amazing audio track!

2009-06-15T00:54:00.003+05:30

I just listened to K.N.Dandayudhapaani Pillai's Sakhiye intha jaalam varnam at http://www.hummaa.com/music/album/26757/An+Evening+Of+Bharatanatyam . The varnam has been rendered by the Great MLV for her daughter Actress Srividya's dance performance. Whats more? On the nattuvaangam is the doyen Dandaayudhapani pillai himself! Please do listen to it! :)

Interview of Smt.Priya Murle!

2009-06-14T01:50:00.004+05:30

Read my interview of danseuse Priya Murle at http://www.carnaticdarbar.com/interviews/2008/interviews_priya_murle.asp.

Its the first time i interviewed a person. Had great fun doing it! She made me feel absolutely comfortable. A very nice and amiable person. A meeting that i will cherish forever! :) Here are a couple of videos that have clippings of her performance from "Mammudha - from dust to life"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzp6w3u3FaU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QlVxCE-FdZ4

ABHAI's Varnam workshop!!

2009-05-16T19:30:00.019+05:30

ABHAI - Association of Bharathanatyam Artistes of India had arranged for a summer workshop at the Narada Gana Sabha from the 1st to the 15th of May. The workshop was conducted by Padmashri Leela Samson, Director, Kalakshetra. Though I had not registered for the workshop, I did sit and observe the happenings at the foyer of NGS on the 9th and 10th of May. Believe me .. I had the time of my life.

To see 65 dancers doing the same movements and listening to the sound emanating from the marbled floors while all of them do a thatti mettu was DIVINE! Amongst the ones who had attended the workshop, were house wives, young budding artistes and a few famous performers like Mrs.Bragha Bessel, Mrs.Lavanya Ananth, Mrs. Meenakshi Shrinivasan, Mrs.Priyadarsini Govind, Mrs.Priya Murle and Mrs.Roja Kannan. Gurus like Sasirekha Rammohan, Smt. Jayanthi Subramaniam and Mrs.Parvathi Ravi Ghantasala too were there. I did take my time to identify these performers in their practice costume without make up! Was quite a tough job indeed.. I spent a lot of time taking a close look at these performers and observing their techniques. Mrs.Bragha wasn't there on the two days but i heard that she amazed people with her agility that defied her age. Mrs. Lavanya sat in full aramandi everytime she danced. Really wonder how she manages to do that! Mrs.Meenakshi Shrinivasan has a really pleasing countenance but i haven't seen her solo performances yet! Mrs.Priyadarsini Govind stood at one corner of the corridor and listened keenly to what Ms. Leela told. She didn't dance that much but listened intently. Mrs.Priya Murle is one of my personal favourites and she did so much of BEAUTIFUL abhinayam even during the rehearsals. Mrs.Roja Kannan exhibited a lot of leadership qualities. She gave in a lot of inputs during the discussions on deciding the costume for the grand finale , the number of dancers who had to dance, etc. The young dancers and the other regular performers found it easy to pick up what was being taught while the others did find it a bit tough to catch up with.

Having talked about the participants, its now time to talk about the Guru Ms.Leela Samson, the Director of Kalakshetra. She chose to teach the celebrated "Swamiyai azhaithodi vaa" varnam, a composition of Shri K.N.Dhandayudhapaani Pillai. Each stanza of the varnam is set to a different raga and the name of the raga features in that stanza. For example, the charanam is set to the ragam sankarabharanam and hence its lyrics go like "Sadha ninaivu kondu maiyyal il meeludhe Sankarabharananai" Beautiful isn't it?? Coming back to Ms.Leela. WOWWW! Is what i say everytime I think of her. She is a person who is full of life.. The very fact that she can hold the attention of around 60 dancers for almost 3 hours for 15 continuous days is enough to prove her mettle as a Guru. The way she shared the varnam with the participants of the workshop was truly amazing. The choreography was so flexible that students from all schools felt it not very odd while executing it! She gave the reason behind every single movement. She always asked the participants to make full use of pauses and not let the audience know what the dancer was going to do next. As a rasika, I love surprises and hope the dancers at the workshop follow this. Her sense of humour is another thing that kept the sessions going. :) On sunday, There was an EXTREMELY INTERESTING discussion on whether a dancer should carry the sthayi bhava of the varnam during the jathis and while walking back. I just enjoyed listening to the views of the dancers.

The workshop in progress

On 15th about 55 dancers perfromed the Varnam that was taught, on the stage at Narada Gana Sabha. Couldn't make it because i wasn't in station. Wish i were there to witness it. But the two days! huh.. i will never forget them. Lucky were the dancers who attended the workshop and absolutely unlucky are the ones who didn't!

The participants presenting the varnam in the Valedictory function

Pictures Courtesy: www.abhai.org.in

My reviews at Carnatic darbar.com

2009-01-05T14:48:00.000+05:30

Hurray!! I'm now a professional reviewer.. I write reviews for a portal carnatic Darbar. The site is run by Mr.K.T.Jagannathan and Mrs.Sudha Jagannathan. Mrs.Sangeetha Shyam from Malaysia, a friend of Mr.KT, who read my blog asked if i would be interested in writing for carnatic darbar. I happily accepted and started sending my reviews!

My first review was on Anitha Guha's production on Thiruppavai. Second review was on Alarmel Valli's performance for Kartik fine arts. The recently published one is about Lavanya ananth's performance at NGS.

Please click on the inserted hyperlinks and read my reviews. Pls leave your comments! Thanks :-)

Of the Season and the Sabhas....

2008-12-17T23:57:00.000+05:30

Here i come people with my next post!! Its not about any performance, but about sabhas and my experiences in general, or rather from a youngster's point of view..

Many people keep asking as to why youngsters only perform at concerts but never come to look at or listen to others perform. For instance, a blogger by name Raji, an ardent fan of classical music and dance, in her blog, has written thus - "Very few youngsters, unless they are the performers’ students attend the kutcheris. Neither do other musicians. Youngsters prefer to be on stage rather than in the audience."

Here in my blog, i would like to bring about a few points with respect to the dwindling number of youngsters amongst the audience. The first factor is MONEY! Many youngsters who are students do not earn. The season tickets are really costly and so are the daily tickets. Sabhas that offer free shows rarely bring in quality artistes. Sabhas can offer some kind of concessions for youngsters who wish to attend concerts. Think this will really draw the attention of the youngsters. The next is time. Youngsters have very odd working times! specially the ones in the IT and ITES sectors. This makes it really impossible for them to atend kutcheris or dance recitals.

Above all, there is a kind of indifference i feel among "a few" of the senior rasikas (shall be referred to as maamis and mamas hereinafter).They give me a what-does-he-have-to-do-here kinda disgusting look. Even a small mistake that you do is viewed as a serious crime by them. The other day at Bharathiya Vidya Bhavan, the hall was full for Anitha Guha's Padha Kavitha Pithamaha show. The lights were turned off and by mistake i stepped over a mama's feet. I immediately apologized but he responded in a very cold manner. He said "Ivanga ellam inge edhukku varaanga nu theriyala" (I don't know why these people come here). I was shocked for a second but just moved on as i didn't want to miss the happenings on stage. A similar incident happened when i had to share my table with another mama at the Woodlands canteen at Narada Gana Sabha. He constantly kept giving me disgusting looks and never let me use more than half of the table even by mistake! I had three plates of food while he had only one. He kept pushing my plates towards me. Last year a friend of mine and I went to the premiere show of Sudharani Ragupathy's Mammudha. We kept talking to each other about what was happening on stage. For a few comedy scenes we even laughed out loud. My friend's style of laughing is peculiar and it brings roofs down. But thats how he has been doing it for long! We were constantly being asked to stop talking and laughing by a couple who were seated a row ahead of us! But they themselves kept talking to each other often.. strange! Maamis' group discussions can be really disturbing at times. A group of maamis were once talking about how to make dhokhlas. In another concert, another group was debating Srinivas's decision to retain Raagini in previous episode of Super singer! Thats why i prefer to attend the 2 o clock dance progs at NGS in which most of them fall asleep. :-)

Coming Back...Then next thing i feel is the programs. I have no idea about music concerts. But as far as dance recitals are concerned, i think artistes can present themes that youngsters can relate to or easily understand. If not that, they can explain in detail the sanchari bhaavams with the hasthas just as how Alarmel Valli orPriyadarsini Govind do. It helps a lot really. Marketing is another aspect. The music and dance festival should be marketed in a way that would to draw the attention of youngsters. Corporate companies can give free passes to their employees. This would make some difference. And when young artistes perform, they should make sure to bring a few of their friends for the performance. All these i think would help to increase the population of connosiseurs of classical music and dance amongst youngsters!!

No offence meant to anyone! Just my views.. Apologies in case i've hurt you...

Pre-season recitals!

2008-12-15T14:01:00.000+05:30

The formal Chennai music and dance season (or simply "season") begins only on the 15th of December. Big sabhas like the music academy start their activities for the season only today. But with the growing number of artistes the sabhas are finding it tough to provide chances for all of them. Hence most of the sabhas kick off with their concerts as early as the last week of November..

The first dance recital that i attended during this year's season or rather pre-season was that of Jyotsna Jagan nathan's on 2nd December. A doctor by profession, Jyotsna has been under many well-known gurus lik Dr.Hema Govindarajan and Jayanthi Subramaniam. Right now, she is undergoing training from well-known dancer A.Lakshman and abhinaya training from Bragha Bessel. With the usual traffic at Gemini, I could reach Bhavans only for the Varnam. She had chose to perform Shri Lalgudi Jayaraman's Navarasa Varnam - Angayarkanni anandam kondaale for the evening. She proved her expertise by the way she handled he varnam. It was very well-rehearsed. Bodylines and footwork were perfect. I personally felt that there could have been more variety in the choreography. A select few adavus were repeated in the varnam and thillana making it a bit monotonous. The usual sarpa nadai and other such components were missing. She kinda used the same actions and hastas again and again for lines like "arul peruvom" and "saran adaivom". She chose all tamil pieces and hence I had no problem in understanding them. The way she showed "aan shringaaram" in the Varnam (siva-parvathi meeting episode) was very effective. The "pittukku mann sumandhu" sanchari in the varnam was also well handled. Her costumes were good, but hair dressing very clumsy! A very refreshing perfromance it was! Click here to read the review of Jyotsna's performance by Rupa Srikanth.

The next was Mrs.Urmila sathyanarayanan's thematic performance - Krishna Sankalpa at Narada Gana Sabha (NGS) on the 9th of December. Mrs.Urmila is known for her angashuddhi and she didn't belie her rasikas' hopes. Throughout the performance she maintained perfect araimandi and stiff arms. She began with a pushpanjali followed by the verse "Kasthuri thilakam" from Srikrishna Karnamrutham which was in turn followed by Oothukkadu Venkata subbaier's Swagatham Krishna Sharanaagatham Krishna. Then next was varnam in charukesi, "Innum en manam" by shri Lalgudi jayaraman. Items like jathiswaram, shabdam are to be seen only in arangetrams or DVDs meant for teaching them. They no longer seem to be a part of the purvanga of the margam, mainly because of the time constraint. The program begins only at 7 and the main items lik pushpanjali, varnam and thillana alone by itself take near to one and a half hours! Anyway coming back to the performance.... Mrs.Urmila gave a detailed narration before the varnam about the sancharis making it easier for fledglings like me to understand them easily. She depicted two instances from Jayadeva's Geeta Govindam. Watching her perform was a real delight. But again i found that she kept on repeating the gudhittha metti and a particular variation of the uthplavana adavu pretty frequently throughout the performance. Though she executed them with the sincerity of a beginner, it became monotonous after a point. She next did a padam "Jo Achyutananda" by Annamacharya. Following this was a javali and a thillana on Krishna. Not many moved out during the performance and this by itself was an indication of how well the program went.

Smt. Sheela Unnikrishnan's Sridevi Nrithyalaya has come up with their group production "Shadaaksharam" Lord Muruga. Choreographed by Smt.Sheela herself, the concept and music are by Madurai.R.Muralidharan, noted guru, dancer and composer. I saw the program at Mylapore fine arts on the 10th of December. The production began with my favourite Murugan Kavithuvam in shanmukha priya ragam composed by Madurai.R.Muralidharan. The production was very enjoyable and all the did an excellent job! Was a bit boring as all the episodes that featured in the producion were well known ones. Simran, the young muruga did a commendable job. So did other dancers lik Archana Raja, Harinie Jeevitha and the girl who came as parvathy.

On 13th december was Dr.Padma Subrahmanyam's Sree Ramaya Tubhyam Namaha at Sri Krishna Gana Sabha - a thematic presentation on the story of Lord Rama. It was the first time i visited Sri Krishna Gana Sabha and i found the hall and the ambience very good. She had chosen pieces from Ramayanam of various languages like Sanskrit, Tamil, telugu and malayalam. The music and choreography was by her. There were two vocalists and looked like there was no coordination between them. Dr.Padma is an expert in presenting the Hasya Rasa. But the episodes were all familiar ones. And the program started only at 7. So i left the hall by 9 o clock.

Smt.Anitha Guha is very famous among the Rasikas for her Group productions. She has many group productions to her credit, my favourites being "Ramyam Hitham Natyam" and "Swagatham Krishna Sharanagatham Krishna". But surpassing her previous ones comes her latest "Pada Kavitha Pitamaha". As i entered the hall, i found Aishwarya Narayanaswamy, seniormost disciple of Smt. Anitha Guha in a saree welcoming people. Wasway too disappointed to know that she wasn't dancing! But the others compensated for the disappointment by performing extremely well. Highly professional in her approach towards her productions, Smt.Anitha has choreographed every scene very well and the dancers did absolute justice to the choreography. Yatin Agarwal who comes as annamacharya easily stole the show. He has very clear and crisp footwork. He handled the character well and gave the emotional depth that it needed. But he did have tinges of feminism in his abhinaya. Other dancers like Charanya Narayanaswamy and the girl who came as Mahalakshmi did their parts absolutely well. The scene in which Mahavishnu and Mahalakshmi make love was brilliant. Charanya showed her "poi kovam" in a very pleasing way. Sathvika Shankar who came as Hanuman did extremely good dancing.The entire ballet was absolutely delighting. It was a sunday evening and the show was not ticketed. Hence Bhavan was brimmming. Even the Dhananjayans found it tough to find a seat. I would easily call "Pada Kavitha Pitamaha" as the hit of the season!

So these are all the recitals that i have attended as of now. And the season has begun today! Looking forward to see Priya Murle, Priyadarsini Govind, Dhananjayan's Krishna Jananam, Madurai.R.Muralidharan's Saptha Thaandavam and Revathi Ramachandran's Dayinee. Apart from these my personal favourites like Nathella Aishwarya (Disciple of Prof.Sudharani Ragupathy) and other new comers are planning to make a mark in professional dancing this season. Hope every artiste has a memorable time performing for the rasikas during this season. God Bless all of them! Wishing all the readers a Happy music-dance season 2008-09. See you all in my next post. :-)

My first Blog

2008-12-15T00:19:00.000+05:30

For long, i have always wanted to blog. But somehow never found time for it.. At last.. its happened. My blog, as the title says, will be a place for me to open up my feelings on various issues.. think its a very nice way of killing time given that i am absolutely jobless right now (in my holidays). Making the best use of the December season.. I am a great fan of Bharathanatyam. So attending as many natyam recitals as possible. Don't think i ll be in country next year this time as i am planning to go abroad for higher studies. :-) So dance enthusiasts, keep checking out this page for my reviews on dance shows that i attend. See you all soon in my next post!