Ananya Nritya Dhaare 7: Day 1
- Probal Gupta, Bangalore
e-mail: probs_gupta12@yahoo.co.in

February 24, 2010 

 
Ananya's Nritya Dhaare under the aegis of Dr. Raghavendra has been providing a platform for all the upcoming talented dancers of all genuses centered in Karnataka. Curtsy to this gentleman, a true connoisseur of Indian classical dance and music who is unswerving in his support to artists and fulfilling their dreams.

Day one of Ananya Nritya Dhaare series 7, commenced with a Bharatanatyam recital by Mithun Shyam, a disciple of the veteran Guru Padmini Ramachandran. A very handsome dancer indeed, Mithun commenced the evening's recital with a Stuti in praise of Narthana Ganapati. Moving on to a Ranjini Varnam set to Adi tala in praise of Lord Shiva, this  dedicated dancer tried doing justice to all the choreographies of his Guru religiously with two Devarnamas pivoting around Lord Krishna bringing cessation to his recital.

Vaibhavi Joshipura, a Kathak exponent and disciple of Kumudini Lakhia, followed next segregating her recital in two divisions – the Shrinkhala showcasing all the traditional nritta aspects of Kathak – the Thaat, Tukda, Uthan, Tisra Jati toda, Chatusra Jati toda, the tihais, the Gat Nikas in various ragas suffixed with her own research project 'Sita' as visualized by herself. Though this dancer could have exhibited professionalism by sticking to the time lines defined by the organizer, her performance exhibited maturity and mastery of her dance style.  Vaibhavi's footwork is good; her body reveals a suppleness of energy which is always under a tenacious control, that projects a thorough deliberate practice. 'Sita' written by Avinash Vyas and conceptualized by the dancer, thwarts Lord Rama's name as God, as how merciless could he ever be that he abandoned Sita just because his citizens questioned her sanctity!  Kudos to this dancer for thinking beyond the customary perception of affording Rama the superlative prowess; thereby questioning his viability to be worshipped. Sita on the other hand reigns supreme defeating Ravana much before Lord Rama could have even conquered him in the battlefield, by not even allowing Ravana to touch her while being in Panchavati. 

However, the best performance of the evening was the Kuchipudi recital by Hithaishy Surendra. Initially trained under the legendary Vyjayanthi Kashi, this dancer is currently undergoing training in Kuchipudi under Uma Muralikrishna from the Vempati Chinna Satyam bani. Commencing her recital with a Natesha Kauthuvam, the dancer immediately created a sparkle amongst the connoisseurs. Moving on to an item from the traditional Kuchipudi repertoire - a Patra Pravesha Daruvu with a third person being the dancer herself introducing the character Devadevi from the dance drama Vipranarayana Charithram, the artist proved her mettle and maturity as a classical dancer through her subtle abhinaya. Especially the scene when the nayika ornaments herself to allure the saint Vipranarayana speaks of her perseverance and assiduousness with which she has mastered the theatrical attributes of this classical form. One understands the meticulousness of this dancer to handle the beautiful character's seductive gait with which she proceeds to satiate her yearning.  Hithaishy concluded her recital resplendently with the famous Venkata Subbu Iyer's "Marakatha Manimaya Chela" in Raag Arabhi set to Adi talam choreographed by Dr. Vempati Chinna Satyam in the Tarangam format. 
 
 
Probal Gupta trained in Kathakali under two legends Late Kalamandalam Govindan Kutty and Guru Fact Padmanabhan under whom he is presently continuing his specialization in Stree Vesham genre of Kathakali. He has also been a student of Bharati Shivaji. He is an empanelled artist of Doordarshan and has established a Solo Margam for Stree Vesham Kathakali under the able guidance of his Guru Fact Padmanabhan. Probal is a graduate in English Hons from the University of Kolkata. He is the dance critic for The Hindu, Bangalore.