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 Couple dancers enthrall - Vijay Shanker e-mail: shankercsn@gmail.com Photos: S.T. Amudhan December 7, 2019 Fine Arts Society and Guru G.V. Ramani Natya Kala Foundation commenced the centenary celebrations of Guru G.V. Ramani (1920-2020), one of the foremost acharyas of Bharatanatyam in Mumbai with an interesting program of couple dancers at the Sivaswamy auditorium, Mumbai, on 22nd November. Guru G.V. Ramani Natya Kala Foundation has been established as a tribute to him and his wife Ranganayaki who were among the earliest gurus to start Bharatanatyam classes in Mumbai. The enterprising duo has trained several aspirants, many of whom are professionals with their own dance schools. One such is Guru Gayatri Subrahmanyam, an accomplished Bharatanatyam exponent and teacher with several disciples; some of them have become professional dancers as well. It is a noble gesture of gratitude and a fine way of revealing your "guru bhakti" by encouraging young dancers to perform and giving them a platform to do so.  Sakshi Pujari The program commenced with the brief and striking Bharatanatyam performance by Gayatri Subrahmanyam's disciple Sakshi Pujari, who is fast making a mark with her dazzling performances. Sakshi commenced with an invocatory number in praise of the goddess, while incorporating her virile and benevolent aspects. The Shankarabharanam varnam "Madhavan Mohananai" features Lord Krishna and his relationship with the heroine, as she pleads with her sakhi to deliver her message and call him as soon as possible, as she is unable to bear the pangs of separation. In "viraha tapam," she recollects her joyous moments with her lord. Sakshi scored well in the expressions, sancharis and the technique of both form and structure, making a fine start to the program.  Aparna Shastry and Pavitra Bhat While Pavitra Krishna Bhat is already known for his immaculate and brilliant performances, the Mumbai audience was waiting to see his wife Aparna Sastry perform along with Pavitra. The recently married couple created magic with their powerful presentation. Presenting a beautiful varnam composition by Bangalore based composer Srivatsa, incorporating the elephant-headed god Ganapati, they created a lasting impression on the audience. The start with the typical pose of the risen trunk in two opposite angles, created a fine impact, as the duo moved on with striking and rhythmic movements, dancing in fine harmony and coordination, portraying varied episodes in the life of Ganesha like his birth as he is being created by Parvati to be the guard while she is having her bath, the appearance of Lord Shiva and his tussle with Ganesha as he is killed and being restored to life again with head of an elephant. Another episode when both Ganesha and Kartikeya are asked to move around Triloka and as to how Ganesha wins the fruit was dramatically performed by the couple as they danced with joie-de-vivre and vitality.  Anand Satchidanandan and Jayalakshmi Anand Satchidanandan and Jayalakshmi are wonderful dancers, having trained under veterans in the field. Anand is the disciple of the celebrated Dhananjayans. After the pure dance number, the piece-de-resistance of the evening was the presentation of the number "Thampatyam" that questioned the valid query as to who is the ideal wife or husband and what are the necessary qualities to become an ideal wife or husband. This unusual number was applauded by the audience, as it was quite pertinent for the occasion, while moving on from natyadharmi to lokadharmi and taking classical dance closer to the audience. While it is exciting to watch couple dancers perform, comparisons are inevitable, as one wonders who is the better dancer. The couple dancers received fine orchestral support from Keerthana Krishnamurthy for vocal, Devaki for nattuvangam, Brajesh Nair for mridangam and Bharat Raj for flute. On the whole it was an interesting program. Vijay Shanker is a Kuchipudi and Kathakali exponent, teacher, bilingual journalist, arts critic and actor. |
