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 Dancers excel at Raindrops Festival - Vijay Shanker e-mail: vijaydance@gmail.com Photos courtesy: Sam Ved August 14, 2023 The much awaited Raindrops Festival organised by Sam Ved Society of Performing Arts, was presented at SPJIMR auditorium in collaboration with Bhavan's Cultural Centre, Andheri, Mumbai on 21st and 22nd July. It was quite exhilarating to watch the selected nine classical dancers do their best. This festival is organised by Kathak dancer Uma Dogra on behalf of Sam Ved with the intention of promoting young talent as there are not many platforms for young dancers. The notable part is being the monsoon period which is normally the slack season for performing art shows. For more than three decades this festival has been organised with hardly any corporate support. The festival directors are Indryanee Mukherjee and Suhani Singh.  Dipti Routray The 33rd Raindrops Festival commenced with the elegant Odissi performance by Dipti Routray, disciple of Guru Durga Charan Ranbir who belongs to the gharana of Pt Deba Prasad Das. Dipti made a fine start with "Suryashtakam", salutations to Lord Surya with measured and distinct movements that gradually developed into fast tempo. It was a pleasing presentation but the dancer seemed a bit hasty sometimes. The music was rendered by Hari Das and choreography by Guru Durga Charan Ranbir. The "piece-de resistance" of the evening was the Odiya composition "Lajoji" that portrays the magical impact of the flute and the bashfulness of Radha as she encounters Krishna. Dipti was subtle with her innate expressions. Music was provided by Pradip Kumar Roy and singer was the sister-in-law of the dancer.  Divya Warier Divya Warier created a wonderful impact with her enchanting Mohiniattam performance. She is the disciple of Dr Neena Prasad. Divya made a fine start with the playful dance "Panthattam" (dance with the ball) in Kalyani ragam and followed with a Kriti by Mysore Vasudevacharya that portrays the journey of Rama with the underlining introspective bhakti bhava in praise of the Lord. The dancer takes you on a dramatic journey spanning Hanuman's devotion for Rama, the Setu Bandhan, the killing of Ravana and ultimately the ascension of the throne. "Bhajave manasa" was a visual treat, capturing the bhakti element in the musical interludes provided by the commendable Madhavan Namboodiri. Divya undoubtedly is a fine performer.  Amruta Paranjape Amruta Paranjape is an accomplished Kathak exponent from Pune and is the disciple of Shambhavi Dandekar. Amruta is the artistic director of Abhivyakti School of Kathak. She commenced her performance with a Ganapati Vandana "Sumiran karo Ganapati Ganesa", followed with some rhythmic footwork, Shiv Paran, and concluded with an expressional number in praise of Lord Krishna, "Jasoda Hari". It was surprising to witness a Kathak performance without the tabla but the young talented pakhawaj player Shubham did complete justice to the commendable performance. Amruta received vocal support from Sagar, sitar by Aparna Deodhar and padant by Samruddhi Lele.  Dakshina Vaidyanathan (Photo: Inni Singh) Dakshina Vaidyanathan created a lasting impression with her delightful performance. Dakshina made a fine start with Ganapati Talam with choreography by Guru Saroja Vaidyanathan that was executed with striking and precise movements, revealing her calibre as a fine performer. The unusual Annamacharya kirtana captured the attention of the audience due to its sublime and physical elements that reveals the intimacy of Balaji and his consort Alamelumanga. After the priest closes the doors of the sanctum sanctorum, the goddess tells Vasudevan, "I do not need a necklace as your rings of kisses can replace them, nor do I need waist belt as you would hold me with your arms; while devotees wait anxiously to get a glimpse of you, I am so fortunate that your eyes are always on me." As the couple gets closer, it’s already early morning and they hurriedly get ready to occupy their original position as God and Goddess as the morning Vishnu Sahasranaman commences. Dakshina revealed the intimacy of the couple with the human angle. Differentiating and transforming into the divine couple was amazing to the extent that she received a standing ovation.  Kiran and Shravan Ullal The second day commenced with the unusual combination of Karnataka's theatrical art form Yakshagana with Bharatanatyam, performed by Kiran and Shravan Ullal respectively. Kiran honed his skills from Dakshina Kannada Jilla and is the disciple of Guru Sabbanakodi Rama Bhat. Shravan holds a masters degree in Bharatanatyam from Kalai Kaveri College of Fine Arts and is the disciple of Guru Ullal Mohana Kumar. Attired in the typical Yakshagana costume with a large moustache, Kiran’s performance was noteworthy for its vibrant movements and dramatic gestures creating a lasting impression on the audience. He played the wicked king Kansa and the demoness Poothana who tries to kill the little infant Krishna, while Shravan with delicate and soft movements enacted Devaki and Krishna. Based on the Bhagavad Purana, it was exciting to watch the contrasting vibrant movements blending with the graceful movements in the Bharatanatyam style. Kiran as Poothana screamed loudly after she sees her frightening face, creating a humorous impact on the audience. Furthermore, she is disgusted with the little infant Krishna as he pees on her. It was indeed a wonderful combination and both Kiran and Shravan performed well.  Avijit Das One of the best Kuchipudi dancers of the country, Avijit Das performed a dramatic and complex item that attracted the standing ovation from the rapt audience. “Aham Bhumi” is a conversation between Lord Vishnu and Bhudevi, pleading with him to rescue her from Hiranyaksha. When Bhudevi was abducted by Hiranyaksha, she tells Narayana, “You are called by name Kari Raja, because you rescued the elephant king Gajendra from a crocodile. You are also called Madhusudana as you killed the demons Madhu-Kaitabha in your manifestation as Hayagriva. I am surrendering to you, why don’t you rescue me?” Lord Vishnu takes the form of Varaha avatar and rescues Bhoomi Devi. Performed with stylistic ability and excellent command over angika abhinaya and overall presentation of all the characters like Hiranyaksha, Gajendra, the crocodile and finally Lord Vishnu created a great impact on the audience.  Arupa Lahiri Arupa Lahiri is a fine Bharatanatyam exponent from Kolkata. Combining the Alarippu with a kriti on Gopala was interesting which was followed with the ashtapdi "Kuru yadu nandana" incorporating the intimate relation of the heroine as Swadhinapatika with her Lord as she commands her adulation from him. Incorporated with fine mukhaja abhinaya, stylistic grace and clarity of movements, it was a pleasure to watch Arupa dance. She is the disciple of Guru Chitra Visweswaran.  Meghranjani Medhi The last performer of the festival was Meghranjani Medhi, daughter and disciple of the accomplished Kathak exponent from Guwahati (Assam), Marami Medhi. Dancing to live orchestra is always an asset as Meghranjani, attired elegantly in white costume with glittering borders, created a fine spectacle as she danced with effortless ease, revealing her command over both layakari and teyyari. She commenced with “Jay Janini Devi” and concluded with “Jhula barkha ki ritu aayi” revealing the monsoon with the typical rhythmic complexity as the rains shower abundantly. Meghranjani was supported on the vocals by her father Jayprakash, who is a known playback singer and her mother for padant, Vinay for tabla and Shubham for pakhawaj. On the whole it was grand festival.  Vijay Shankar is a Kuchipudi and Kathakali exponent, teacher, bilingual journalist, arts critic and actor. |
