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Impressive recital by Aparna Jayaram January 9, 2016 Aparna Jayaram, disciple of Radhika Vairavelavan gave an impressive Bharatanatyam recital under the aegis of Kartik Fine Arts at Narada Gana Sabha (mini hall) on the 4th of January 2016. Endowed with an attractive stage presence and an expressive face, Aparna carried herself well throughout the recital. Commencing the concert with the sloka "Gnananandamayam devam" followed by Khanda alarippu, Aparna went on to the central piece of the recital in Natakurunji raagam "Chalamela Jesevayya" composed by Moolaiveedu Rangaswamy Nattuvanar and choreographed by Rukmini Devi Arundale in adi talam. Aparna beamed with confidence and the jathis were executed with absolute finesse and ease to the cymbals of Radhika Vairavelavan and the percussion of Nagarajan. Nrithya for the first line of the charanam "Nannu brova neeku bharama" meaning thereby, "Is it a great burden for you to shower your grace and save me?" followed by the subsequent lines "andaandamulaku adhipati vani ninda moralidaga vinivinaka yunda" meaning "Lord Ranganatha, being the adhipati of the entire universe pretending not to hear my praises showered on you" were effectively portrayed by Aparna. The last charanam "Aa draupadiki valuva sabhalo tarakaruna osagina" referring to Draupadi's maana samrakshanam were equally convincing in Aparna's abhinaya. Aparna followed it up with "Malai pozhudhinile oru naal malar poigaiyile" in Ragamalika, composed by the famous Kalki Krishnamurthy immortalized by the soulful music of M.S. Subbulakshmi. The nrithya for this piece was interspersed with adequate pinches of romance particularly for the line "Velondru kaiyilendi ennaiye vizhunguvaan pol vizhithaan". The next piece was the famous composition of Tanjore Shankar Iyer, popularized by the famous vidwan D.K. Jayaraman "Mahadeva Shiva Shambho" in ragam Revathi, talam adi. The bhakthi rasa was very evident in Aparna's performance of this piece. The concluding thillana was by Ramanathapuram Srinivasa Iyengar - popularly known as Poochi Iyengar - in ragam Kaapi, in Lakshmeesham talam, the 106th talam among the 108 talams, with a Dritham, Anudritham, Dritham, three Chathusra lagus and one Guru (25 aksharamas). It was a treat to watch, choreographed by Radhika and performed by Aparna. Guru Radhika Vairavelavan wielded the cymbals effectively to the percussion of Nagarajan and vocal support by Rajesh, flute by T. Sashidhar and veena by Ananthanarayanan. The orchestral support was very commendable. Aparna, with her impressive stage presence, hard work and dedication is bound to make a mark in the years to come.