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Great performance by Jayanthi Subramaniam
    

Yet another promising dancer Jayanthi Subramaniam recently gave a Bharatanatyam recital at the Music Academy Mini Hall, Chennai. The programme was organised by Lalit Kala Vedika, Chennai. This organisation often presents with good performances that are a treat to watch. The traditional Todayamangalam came forth as the first piece and was a bright prelude to a fine performance. Salutations are offered to Vishnu and two of his incarnations, Rama and Krishna in this Raga-tala-malika. It lucidly brought to fore the experience of this danseuse. The programme was a true testimony to the mastery that she had acquired in the art form over the years. Tanjavur Quartette's Sankarabharanam Varnam ‘Manavi’ remained the central piece of the recital. It included crisp sancharis and jatis which were well presented. 

    

Young Srikanth’s nattuvangam with proper modulations added colour to the already colourful presentation. The way the nayika sent the deer, river Ganga and the parrot as messengers and the way Siva played with her by keeping all the messengers with himself were crisp sancharis requiring additional mention. The post-Varnam session had 4 interesting pieces, each with a different theme. ‘Telisenura’ in Saveri dealt with the concept of the second woman while the Pasuram of Periya Azhwar depicted the lamenting Devaki who just gave birth to lord Krishna and never had the joy of watching the child play. This piece was brilliantly connected to Purandaradasa’s ‘Jagadhoddharana’ illustrating the fortune of Yashoda who never gave birth to Krishna but had the joy of watching him play and even punishing him for his mischievousness.

Radha Bhadri’s vocal support and Seetarama Sarma’s accurate following on the violin were other highlights of the day. Jayanthi concluded with the captivating Tilang tillana of Lalgudi Jayaraman, which was a challenging one for the mridangist, Jagadish Janardhanan. Kudos to the choreographic skill of Jayanthi. It is not wrong to mention here that those who had missed the show that day missed something really great.

      
Echoing confidence

The Delhi based artiste Santnu Chakraborty recently presented a Bharatanatyam recital under the auspices of Bharat Kalachar. The yeoman service of this institution in staging Indian classical dance and music needs special mention. Santnu, was initiated into this art form by Sonal Mansingh. The programme opened with the very traditional but hardly performed item, Todayamangalam, in Ragamalika and Talamalika. The Natakurinji Varnam of Papanasam Sivam with crisp jatis remained the anchor piece. The post- Varnam session included an Ashtapadi and a Surdas Bhajan. The artiste performed all the items with verve and confidence. He is presently being groomed by Delhi Krishnamurti who wielded the Nattuvangam with dignity. 

       
J Padmanaban’s mridangam accompaniment with reverberating farans (filling up pauses with fast rhythmic syllables ) was noteworthy. The attempt of Seetalakshmi, the vocalist, in bringing the relevant bhava by modulating her voice to suit the dance was great. Since Santnu has a great future in the field of classical dance, a little more concentration on perfecting the nritta would make his presentation more refined and would also add colour to the show.

Matured presentation

Krishnarpanam was the programme recently organized at the Kanchi Mahaswami Ananda Mandapam, Chennai. The performers were Lavanya and Mrinalini who earlier had their training under the living legends - the Dhanajayans. They are currently under Radhika Surajit, who follows the same style. Since the venue happened to be inside the premises of the Ananta Padmanabhaswami temple, Adyar, the selection of items were very special. 
    

The regular Ganapati vandanam was replaced with the famous Keertana ‘Yen Palli Kondeerayya’. The unique Rama Sabdam, a composition of Raji Narayanan was exquisite. Lavanya remained the lead dancer here while in the Dasavataram, Mrinalini took the lead. Nrityopaharam of Turaiyur Rajagopala Sarma was presented with considerable maturity in both nritta and abhinaya aspects. The episode of ‘Gajendra Moksham’ was finely presented. This item brought out their understanding of the content, and the audience found them at ease in conveying the ideas differently. Their faces were mobile and facilitated the fluency of expression. Radhika handled the Nattuvangam with confidence. Vocalist Vanati gave excellent support, ably assisted on the violin by Kalaiarasan. Ramesh Babu gave his best on the mridangam.

Lakshmi V N
   
  

Posted on 20th November 2001
  

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