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 Nrithyotsavam - Vijay Shanker e-mail: shankercsn@gmail.com Photos courtesy: Radhika Ananthkumar November 10, 2019 One of the leading cultural organizations of Mumbai, The Fine Arts Society in Chembur, organized ‘Nrithyotsavam’ classical dance festival for four days from 19th to 22nd September at the main Sivaswamy Auditorium, showcasing Bharata Nrityam, Kathak, Mohiniattam and Bharatanatyam. “The principal aim of this festival is to give a platform to talented classical dancers of Mumbai and encourage them. We would like to make it a special annual festival for Mumbai dance schools and artistes,” said Radhika Ananthkumar, Vice President of the Managing Committee. The festival commenced with the Nrithyodaya Academy of Performing Arts, Mumbai, presenting a thematic Bharata Nrityam production ‘Unmeelana - The Awakening’ showcasing the revival of the Marga tradition of Natyasastra and the resulting awareness that makes every temple sculpture come alive with dance movements. The concept and choreography was by Dr. Jayashree Rajagopalan, an ardent disciple of Dr. Padma Subrahmanyam. It was presented by Jayashree Rajagopalan, Ayshwarya Harish, Akshay Ayre and disciples. The first part traced Dr. Padma Subrahmanyam’s journey of how she was inspired through the sculptures of the temples of Tamil Nadu, thereby evolving the concept of Bharata Nrityam and the relevant usage of the varied karanas, sthanakas and the akash charis which was quite evident in the performance - the typical sway of the torso and the lifting of the feet in different movements, forming a fine synthesis of both elegance and vibrancy. When all the dancers dance in coordination, it forms a rare spectacle and creates a lasting impression. The second part was the beautiful sculptures of the temples of Maharashtra, like Ajanta, Ellora and the Nataraja temple in Satara which is considered a fine replica of the 108 karanas and how their divine beauty inspire the dancers. In fact, it was as if the sculptures came alive to form a unique dance statement. A special mention of the wonderful music and the costumes and make-up, particularly the hair-do is symbolic of the gopuram seen in the temples.  Unmeelana  Gantavya The second day featured a Kathak dance recital by the disciples of accomplished Kathak exponent Uma Dogra. In fact Kathak is rarely presented at this festival; hence it was refreshing to watch the dancers dancing with fine layakari and teyyari which is a hallmark of the Jaipur gharana. With live orchestra, Uma Dogra was on the padant while the dancers performed with rhythmic accuracy. Entitled Gantavya, exploring through Kathak’s technique and abhinaya, the beauty of the journey leads to the ultimate sublime bliss and ananda. The third day featured dancers from Upasana Academy of Performing Arts, headed by veteran Bharatanatyam and Mohiniattam exponent Guru Jayashree Nair, who recently celebrated 44 years of its fruitful existence. It was a sight to watch the dancers performing Mohiniattam attired in the white traditional costume with golden border, as they performed with elegance while displaying varied movements that were executed with articulate neatness, charming the audience. Besides the invocations, the dancers performed Krishna, Ashta Mahalakshmi and the piece-de-resistance of the evening ‘Kunthi’ that portrayed the story of the woman who faced adversity with courage and fortitude. The varied forms of the goddess with the recitation of the Mahalakshmi stotram “Namastestu Mahamaye” exploring the magnificent forms of the goddess of wealth, learning, wisdom, food, prosperity etc. with melodious music rendered by Narayana Mani and commendable vocal rendering by Shivaprasad and Sujata Nair made the entire performance elevating. Choreography credit goes to Guru Jayashree Nair.  Upasana Academy  Soundarya Natya Kalalaya The last day of the festival featured the dancers from Soundarya Natya Kalalaya, headed by Guru Padmini Radhakrishnan. The dancers performed “Om Saravana Bhava” that depicted the six sacred abodes of Lord Kartikeya and glory of the lord while incorporating varied episodes of his life. The production commences with 14 dancers seeking a glimpse of the lord in the composition “Unnai naan kaanbadhenge” followed by the scene of granting of boon by Shiva to Surapadman who becomes a terror in Mount Kailash and the gods plead to Lord Shiva and Parvati to save them, hence Lord Kartikeya is created. The popular scene of fruit which is won by Ganesha and the anger of Kartikeya, the Surasamharam scene, Kartikeya’s encounter with Devayani and Valli and the ultimate dance of the kavadi and the peacocks forms the finale of the presentation along with the Thillana. The intense vocal rendering by Padmini Radhakrishnan and Raji Vishwanathan, violin by Anantharaman and mridangam by Shankaranarayan made the entire production scintillating. All the dancers performed well, Aditi Baliga as Muruga, Shruti Kanan as Valli, Aakruti Anantaraman as Devayani, Shweta Shetty as Shiva, Sandhya Salian as Parvati and Nilesh Singha as Surapadman. Kavadi dancers were Srujanya, Mahalakshmi, Amruta, Kushi, Anushree and Pranaya. The choreography was by Padmini Radhakrishnan, a grand finale indeed. Vijay Shanker is a Kuchipudi and Kathakali exponent, teacher, bilingual journalist, arts critic and actor. |
