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 A thriller margam by Deepta Seshadri - Vinita Radhakrishnan e-mail: vinitaradhakrishnan@gmail.com February 17, 2023 My love for a good traditional margam often makes me brave through Bangalore traffic with all its uncertainties of arriving late, not getting a preferred seat, and worst of all "missing the thillana"! So when I received an invite for Deepta Seshadri's margam presentation which was in my nook of town, I had to go, and I'm so glad I did. Deepta's eclectic margam was a treat to watch with the choicest of pieces, each one distinct from the other in every way.  She began her recital with a Narasimha Kauthuvam, a powerful composition of Balasubramanya Sharma and G. Gurumurthy. While I was expecting to be eased into the margam with a peppy alarippu or a musical pushpanjali, Deepta executed this powerful Kauthuvam, jolting the rasikas at once, demanding nothing less than complete rapt attention from her audience. The big powerful movements, the almost angry demeanor as the sthayi and her larger-than-life presence on stage every time she depicted Narasimha Murthy had me sitting on the edge of my seat, almost too scared to blink. Deepta absolutely nailed the piece with her energy and ability. But what took this performance to a whole new level was the impactful nattuvangam of her acharya Indira Kadambi and the effective and intelligent light designs by Surya Rao. After the Kauthuvam, Deepta seamlessly transitioned into an extremely delicate, flirtatious, and bratty nayika for her next piece, Sarasalanu ipudu, a Tanjore Quartet varnam in raga Karnataka Kapi. The transformation was so drastic and effective that it felt like I was watching a completely new person on stage. Indira Kadambi's bold choreography, Deepta's crisp nritta, her sparkling presence and her eloquent abhinaya as she flirted her way through this piece was truly a delight to watch. Also, the strong support that the music ensemble offered throughout the varnam didn't go unnoticed.  This was followed by an emotionally draining Devaranama Thoredu jeevisabahude, a composition of Bhakta Kanakadasa in raga Misra Keervani. While Deepta once again aced in her transition from a flirtatious nayika to a yearning Bhakta, this piece with which Deepta concluded the first half of the margam was made even more heartfelt and experiential by its stupendous rendition by Rohit Bhat on the vocals. The second half of the margam started with Muttavaddura, a javali by Thanjavur Chinnaiah in Saveri in which Deepta effectively portrayed a khandita nayika absolutely angered and disgusted by her lover's philandering activities. The javali was followed by a very popular Kshetrayya Padam "O Sosi" in Mukhari in which Deepta portrayed a nayaka angered and upset with his lover. Her body language and the restraint in abhinaya to emote a male character was convincing and engaging. Deepta concluded her margam with a thillana in raga Simhendramadhyama, a choreography of the celebrated Late Guru Narmada. This thillana was a wonderful opportunity for Deepta to enchant the rasikas with her command over nritta and she literally created fireworks on stage with her execution. While Deepta is no doubt a very strong dancer, what I believe was the cherry on the cake is the careful curation of the pieces for the margam. It was like a finely balanced buffet. The eclectic spread of compositions with varied moods and ragas made her performance remarkable and delightful.  Bangalore based Bharatanatyam dancer Vinita Radhakrishnan has a Diploma from the Attakkalari Center for Movement Art with basic training in various contemporary dance techniques, Ballet, Kalari, Chhau and Deverattom. Professionally, she is a Patent Attorney and is currently working as a Senior Partner at BananaIP Counsels. |
