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 Maiden performance at the Kashi Vishwanath Corridor - Nagaranjitha Sidramaya e-mail: nagaranjitha.s@gmail.com March 13, 2022 This March entire Kashi was overwhelmed to celebrate Shivaratri in the face-lifted Sri Kashi Vishvanatha temple with a mega corridor. Good news for the dancers is that the structure has a beautiful stage amidst. It is indeed a rare privilege for any dancer to perform at such a divine space.  On 2nd March 2022, Padma Vijay, disciple of Guru B Bhanumati and Sheela Chandrashekar, had such a lifetime opportunity to present a solo Bharatanatyam performance at the new venue. The recital started at 7pm and went on for about an hour and a half. The dancer had chosen the compositions appropriately in Sanskrit and Awadhi which was well received by the Kashi audience. The performance began with Bhajamanasa in ragam Bahaduri, talam adi as salutation to lord Ganesha. Padma then proceeded with Jaya janaki ramaṇa in ragamalika and talamalika, Hanumanta deva namo in ragam Purvi Kalyani and talam adi, the compositions on Rama and Hanumanta which the people of Kashi are very fond of. Her abhinaya was subtle and apt in both the compositions. She moved on to present the Gangadhiswaram where the beauty of Shiva adorning the Gange was presented by the dancer with crisp footwork. Other items included Narasimha Kautvam in khanda chapu, Rajarajeshvari Ashtakam in ragamalika and adi talam, Sri Ramachandra Kripalu Bhajeman of Goswami Tulsi Das in Yaman Kalyani ragam and misrachapu talam. She concluded with Mahadeva Shiva Shambho in Revati ragam and adi tal̲am. The performance ended with the stotram - Om namaste astu bhagvan visvesvaraya, an extract from the Markandeya Purana, which resonated throughout the temple premises mesmerizing the devotee audience. It was a laudable performance and hope people of Kashi get to witness many more performances at the venue surrounded with divinity. Nagaranjitha Sidramaya is a PhD Research scholar, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi. |
