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A captivating Margam by Aruna Bhargavi - Satish Suri e-mail: satishism@yahoo.co.in  Photos : Vinay Ram April 11, 2016 Aruna Bhargavi’s opening statement of the traditional alarippu set the tone of her competence. The alarippu consummately planned had the artist going through the paces in clean diagonal lines and impressively executing movements to perfect rhythm, coordinated by the fluency and fluidity on the nattuvangam by her Guru Ramaa Venugopalan. The varnam “Samiyai vara cholladi, sakhiye,” a Dandayudhapani Pillai composition dedicated to Lord Muruga, portrayed a lovelorn nayika cajoling her sakhi to convey to her beloved the agony of separation. Her delineation of long passages of pure dance interspersed with episodes of he rescuing Valli and the beauteous lord riding his peacock showed the craftsmanship of fine tuned abhinaya and distinctive style nritta that was precise and melodic. Aruna’s exemplary command over the technique, infused the imaginative choreography with emotional content. The soulful voice climb of Vasudha Balakrishna in the sangathis in the line “Kaaman kanai thoduthu kalanga cheigiraridi” reached a crescendo enabling the establishment of the stayi bhava. The nayika pleads with her sakhi to convey to the lord that it is time for union and why has he been indifferent. She conveys to the sakhi about her dream, “oru naal yen kanavinil vanthanadi” as the nayika vaccilates between a state of delirium and the wakeful, closing with a final poignant  entreaty to the sakhi to fetch her Lord Muruga. A padam in Paras “Smara sundarangini sari evare,” a composition of Dharmapuri Subbaraya Iyer, describes that there is no one who can be as beautiful as her lord. When he plays the veena, he is unparalleled and who is there to equal her lord in any aspect of distinction. Portrayed effectively, one feels with greater internalisation the individuality of the artist will blossom.   The next, a composition of T.V. Prasanna Kumar “Nillo doora nillo” in Madhuvanti raga shows a khandita nayika  questioning  the wayward ways of her lord. It evocatively presented the mood of the nayika and her state of disgust. Aruna concluded her program with a thillana, a composition of Dr. Balamurali Krishna in Brindavanasaranga that provided the artist an opportunity to display good expression with perfect synchronisation to the accompanying music.   The music ensemble led by Vasudha Balakrishna (vocals), Ramaa Venugopalan (nattuvangam), Mahesh Swamy (flute) and Lingaraju (mridangam) provided an enriching experience inspite of the hiccups of the sound system. The program was presented by V.R.C. Academy of Music and Dance at the Nayana Auditorium in Bangalore on 31st March. Bangalore based Satish Suri is an avid dance rasika besides being a life member of the Music and Arts Society.