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 Rukmini Krishna - a lavish Kuchipudi production - G Ulaganathan e-mail: ulag_nath@yahoo.com Photos: Ravi Studios December 27, 2019 On Friday, the 13th of December, the packed audience at Ravindra Bharati in Hyderabad was taken back to the days of the glorious presentation of Kuchipudi productions of that master Guru Vempati Chinna Satyam which used to leave the audience spellbound. One of Vempati's disciples Deepika Reddy (whom I know since her college days in the early 80s) presented Rukmini Krishna, a lavish, colourful dance drama with about 30 of her disciples and technical crew. The dancers included her daughter Shloka Reddy.  Rukmini Krishna is a popular dance drama in Kuchipudi. Deepika stuck to the tradition with an invocation dance welcoming the audience to an evening of delightful experience while seeking the blessings of various deities. Melodic music coupled with brisk group dances set the ball rolling. In the next scene enters the charming princess of Vidarbha, Rukmini, introducing herself through a patra pravesa daruvu. The divine hero, Krishna, the cowherd, makes a dramatic entry playing his flute, flanked by cows. Gopikas dance around him extolling his heroic deeds and childhood miracles highlighting his persona. Now it is time for Narada to get into the act to ensure the union of Rukmini and Krishna. Rukmini is already in love with Krishna without even setting her eyes on him. The villain of the piece, the arrogant king of Chedi, Sishupala enters with his henchmen and witnesses a dance performance by his court dancers. Now comes another villain, Rukmini's own brother Rukmi. He tells Sishupala that he will be giving his sister in marriage to him. Feeling helpless, Rukmini writes a letter to Krishna informing him that she will be performing Gowri puja and requests him to rescue her from there and marry her. This is the most poignant scene of this production where Rukmini is distressed with mounting tension, as doubts assail her mind while awaiting Krishna's response with bated breath. Meanwhile, Sishupala is getting ready to marry the reluctant bride Rukmini. In bridal attire, she goes to the temple for Gowri puja and before anyone present there realizes, Krishna comes like lightning in his chariot, swoops Rukmini off her feet and carries her away, and on the way vanquishes her brother and Sishupala who try to resist him. Rukmini is finally united with her Lord Krishna in a grand wedding that is rejoiced by one and all.  Divided into five or six short scenes, Rukmini Krishna kept the audience engaged. There were adequate props and the costumes were chosen meticulously. The only scene which was a little too long was the introduction of Krishna and his dalliance with the gopikas. And, the scene changes have to be speeded up. It was a long break after each scene. Performance wise, almost everyone lived their role. Deepika in the lead role of Rukmini was a kaleidoscope of various emotions and her long stint under Guru Vempati Chinna Satyam has honed her as not only a brilliant dancer but also an imaginative choreographer. Mihira Pathuri Gundarpi as Krishna, B Sudheer Rao as Sishupala, and M Surendranath as Rukmi were experienced dancers who essayed their roles to perfection. Dandibhotla Srinivasa Venkata Sastry has composed the music. It takes a lot of effort to mount such a lavish production and Deepika and her Deepanjali Academy staff deserve full credits. G. Ulaganathan is a senior dance critic based in Bengaluru. |
