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Confident Rendition
Ramya Babu, a disciple of Kanchana Janardhanan recently gave her Bharatanatya Arangetram at the Music Academy Mini Hall, Chennai. She beganwith Mallari, a traditional invocatory piece in which she co-ordinated her rhythmic footwork and swift body movements. The special feature of thisitem is that the rhythmic syllables are uttered in different speeds (kala) such as vilamba, madhyama and durita and also in Tisra gati. The Mallari was in raga Gambheeranata and set toKhanda jati Triputa tala. Siva Sabdam, the next traditional item wasin praise of Lord Siva, the Cosmic dancer, and was set to Ragamalika, Misra Chapu tala. The entire Siva Leela was pinned in the form of a Sabdam.
In the mainstay of the show, Ganesha Varnam, the dancer brought out her abilityto handle brisk jatis and fine facial expressions. The episodes ofGanesha’s acquisition of the elephant face and the fruit of knowledge, Valli Kalyanam, the emergence of Kaveri in South India and so on came in theform of delightful sancharis. The jatis in different jaatis remained a realtreat and all credit goes to the guru, Kanchana Janardhanan, for her excellentchoreographic skill and teaching talent.
Ramya Babu
Padams normally give enough room forfacial expressions and in the Padam Sarasija Nayanane in Amritavarshini, Adi tala, the dancer gave a fine portrayal of Lord Rama, who is described as lotus-eyedand is the role model for a perfect man. Talaattu means lullaby and inMeenakshi Taalattu, the danseuse (the mother) imagines her child to be GoddessMeenakshi and sings Her glory. This item was a wonderful proof of the dancer’smaturity and understanding of abhinaya, and was in Ragamalika, set to Khanda Chapu tala. The brisk Tillana in raga Charukesi and Khanda jatiTriputa tala was finely presented by Ramya. This piece was a challengingone for the dancer’s debut, but Ramya’s confident rendition made the audienceforesee her bright future in this field. Vaaramaayiram has ever been apreferred item in the dance repertoire and Ramya chose to conclude with a rare Tiruppavai in its place, which was no doubt a fitting finale.
Ramyawas fortunate to have expert accompanists in Venugopal (vocal), RamshankarBabu (Mridangam) and Subbu (Keyboard). Archana Prabhakaran’s Tamil comperingand the lyrics of P R Venkatasubramanian for all the above items except theconcluding piece were added highlights of the programme. Well-known singer PithukuliMurugadas and Devi Murugadas graced the occasion and blessed the artiste.
Sushmita
Sushmita, disciple of Guru Kousalya was recently featured at the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Chennai. Commencing with a Pushpanjali in Gambheeranata, she offered floral salutations to the Cosmic dancer, the Guru, who was proudly seated on the nattuvangam, and the vidwans extending orchestral support. She then slowly moved on to the Alarippu in Tisra gati, which is generally the warming up piece for dancers. The Keeravani Jatiswaram and the Sabdam, Tandai Muzhanga, in praise of Lord Kartikeya were flawlessly presented, with faithful adherence to the tradition. The Tamil translation of a popular Swarajati was the chief item of the day. Though Sushmita did full justice to the item, the lyrics of this number were more sringara oriented and it did not match with Sushmita’s age. Even though singara rasa is said to be the Queen of all rasa-s, it is a little difficult to see babies emoting viraha taapam, without knowing and understanding the meaning of the same! Hence dance teachers should be a little careful in selecting items, especially for children below 10. They can try and make the repertoire more bhakti-oriented. Mamava Sri and the Tulsidas bhajan, Sri Ramachandra in Yamankalyani added colour to the programme. The Tillana in Chandrakouns was brilliantly handled by Sushmita, ably supported by Babu Parameshwar (vocal), Vijayaraghavan (mridangam), Srinivasan (violin) and Muthukumar (flute).
Shilpa Darshan Kumar, an upcoming artiste in the dance arena recently performed at the Music Academy, Chennai. She began with a Mallari in Adi tala, followed by Tyagaraja’s composition in raga Sowrashtra, Sri Ganapathini. The presentation of both these items were neat, giving enough evidence of her years of dedicated efforts. The Dhanyasi Varnam followed the Jatiswaram in Mayamalavagowla. The crisp and simple lyrics of Papanasam Sivan was handled well by the danseuse. Credit goes to the guru for her dedicated training. The second half was a unique experience to the audience. Select pieces like a keertanam in Huseni and the Javali, Eppadi Manam Tunindado Swami, were worth watching. She concluded with the Tillana in Mohanakalyani, which was brisk and scintillating.
Lakshmi V N
Shilpa Darshan Kumar
Posted on 30th June 2001
