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 Trinethra Dance and Music Festival - Sreedevi N. Nampoothiri e-mail: sreedevi.nn@gmail.com Photos: Hareesh N. Nampoothiri October 19, 2014 Natyapriya Dance Academy along with Save Kidney Foundation organized a three day dance and music festival titled Trinethra Dance and Music Festival in Kollam during Sept 19 – 21. Neena Prasad, Lavanya Ananth and Sujata Mohapatra were the three dancers who performed on three evenings of the festival. A seminar on hairstyle and make-up by Dr. Radhakrishnan and workshops on Bharatanatyam and Kuchipudi by Neelamana Sisters (Draupadi Praveen and Padmini Krishnan) were the other programs. Neena Prasad started her Mohiniattam recital with a cholkettu (Reethigowla / Chathurasra Jaati, ata), praising lord Ganapathi, with aesthetically attractive movements and efficient footwork. Amrapali, the beautiful royal courtesan of Vaishali, was revived through the padavarnam. The subtle change of emotions from empathy to love towards wounded Ajatasatru and the tug of war in Amrapali’s mind between patriotism and love were detailed in a vivid manner. Following padavarnam, Swathi Thirunal's keerthana “Anandavalli...” (Neelambari / adi) was performed. The fanatical devotion of Abhirami battar to goddess Abhirami was elucidated. The concluding piece was a short bhajan followed by a thillana set in raga Amritavarshini and adi tala. The bhajan unveiled Rasakreeda, escorted with innovative druta tala. She was accompanied by Chenganasseri Madhavan Namboothiri (vocal), Vypin Satheesh (mridangam), Karinad V.K. Haridas (violin), Murali Krishna (veena) and Krishnakumar Thrissur (edakka).
Mallari combined with a vrutham in praise of Nataraja was the opening piece of Lavanya Ananth's recital. Mallari was followed by the varnam “Innum en manam” in which she portrayed the anguished nayika who seeks various ways to express her love towards Krishna. Krishna's antics filled the latter portions. In the Purandaradasa kriti “Jagadodhharana...,” Yasodha’s tactics in handling naughty Krishna was outlined in a comely way. “Yarukkagilum bhayama...” by Subbarama Iyer about a proud and rebellious nayika was then presented. The recital ended with Ardhanariswara Ashtakam rendering distinct features of Shiva and Parvathi. She was supported by Neela Sukhanya (nattuvangam), Murali Parthasarathy (vocal), Dhananjayan (mridangam) and R. Veeramani (violin). Sita Haran, a solo-dance drama choreographed by Kelucharan Mohapatra was the main element in Sujata Mohapatra’s recital. Whether it was the gorgeous Sita, Rama, mighty Jatayu, Mayamriga or Ravana, she invigorated the roles with excellence. The recital started with mangalacharan, offering pranams to Bhoomi Devi, Lord Vishnu and Guru. Following the mangalacharan was a Pallavi in Hamsadhwani / teen taal. Vibrant movements and swift footwork transmitted the inner joy and happiness to the rasikas. The recital ended with the moksha piece in raga Bhairavi set to ek taal. Jayadeva’s ashtapadi, a customary item in an Odissi recital was omitted, maybe due to time constraints. The eminent support by Pradeep Kumar Das (vocal), Ekalabya Muduli (mardala), Surmani Ramesh Chandra Das (violin) and Soumya Ranjan Joshi (flute) enhanced the charm of the recital. Dr. Sreedevi N Nampoothiri is an Ayurvedic physician by profession and an ardent lover of classical art forms. She received basic training in Mohiniattam and Bharatanatyam during her school days and is now pursuing her Mohiniattam under Kalamandalam Shobha. |
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