Pushing the boundaries of Bharatanatyam

Praveen Kumar and Chitkala Ensemble presenting ‘Tyagaraja hrt sadana’.
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

It is nice to see dancers also exploring the emotions in Tygaraja’s compositions. One such attempt was Praveen Kumar’s ‘Tyagaraja hrt sadana’. Presented by his Bengaluru-based Chitkala School of Dance, it was an offering to Rama through the saint-poet’s kritis. Conceived and choreographed by Praveen Kumar, the performance stood out for its aestheticism, imagination, abhinaya and nritta.

They began with a shloka in praise of Tyagaraja –– ‘Vyaso naigama charchaya’ that compares him to Vyasa in the knowledge of the Vedas, to Valmiki in the choice of words, to Shukha Muni in renunciation, and to Prahlada in devotion. As the fragrance of Yadukula Kambhoji wafted through the strings of violin, they began ‘Sri Raama Jaya Raama, Shringaara Raama’ and brought out vatsalya rasa, veera rasa and shringara rasa. ‘Uyyaalaloogavayyaa’ was delightful, as Divya Hoskere as Kausalya showered her love on little Rama through her abhinaya and turned into the quintessential mother.

‘Sogasu jooda tharamaa’ portrayed sattvic romance as Shreema Upadhyaya as Sita, coyly exhibited her admiration for Rama’s good looks. Praveen Kumar as Rama was the embodiment of grace and poise.

‘Jagadanandakaraka’, the first Pancharatnam was the main item that was fully exploited to portray many of the incidents from the Ramayana. Rama-Ravana yudha was brought alive with powerful jathis, specially composed for this production.

When they concluded with the thillana, an inexplicable joy spread through the packed hall.

The orchestra deserved and received a big applause. R. Raghuram impressed with his bhava-laden singing. Harsha Samaga on the mridangam, Mahesh Swamy on the flute, Mandya Nagaraj on the violin and Anoor Vinod Shyam on the tabla, kanjira and cymbals gave zestful support.

Mangaluru-based dancer Radhika Shetty’s ‘Ashtanayikas’.
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

The performance was part of ‘Nrityalahari, a series of events to celebrate Bharatanatyam. It was organised by Mangaluru-based dancer Radhika Shetty’s Nrityaangan. The event began with ‘Ashtanayikas’ portrayed through ‘Navarasam Thadhumbum Nattiyakalaiye’, a song composed by Madurai R. Muralidharan. ‘Svadhina bhartruka’ keeps her husband under her control, ‘Vasakasajja’ gets the place ready for her lord’s arrival, ‘Virahotkanthita’ undergoes the pangs of separation, ‘Proshita bhartruka’ feels miserable as her husband has gone out of station, ‘Vipralabdha’ gets angry, suspecting that her lord is being unfaithful to her, ‘Khandita’ turns arrogant and angry when her husband comes back to her, ‘Kalahantarita’ is confused as to what to do and ‘Abhisarika’ decides to go back to her ord, ready to compromise.

This piece was performed by dancers from Mangaluru. Choreographed by Vidyashree Radhakrishna, the song was set in ragamalika and each stanza briefly explained the state of mind of a particular nayika. The dancers effectively brought out the emotions with their apt abhinaya. The song was interspersed with jathis to add vibrancy to the performance. Vidyashree’s introduction in chaste Kannada was crisp and helpful.

Lalgudi Jayaraman’s thillana in Sindubhairavi with the charanam in praise of Muruga was a visual treat as Vidyashree had incorporated ‘mayura narthana adavus’ and kavadiyattam in her choreography.