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 A homage to the dancing diva Yamini Krishnamurthy - Sonu SK September 23, 2024 On the evening of the 15th of August 2024, the serene space of Kottichetham was graced with a tribute performance in honor of the late dancing diva Yamini Krishnamurthy. The event imbued with reverence and artistry was an initiative by Natanakairali, a center for traditional performing arts. The program of the evening commenced with the lighting of the lamp by Mohiniattam Guru Nirmala Paniker in front of the photograph of Yamini and everyone present was asked to offer flowers to the photo that lit the whole space with a magnificent aura marking the presence of the departed soul who still lives in the memories of each artiste. Kutiyattam maestro Venu G shared some fond memories and experiences of witnessing Yamini's performance. "I first saw her performance during the 1970s," recollected Venu G who was impressed just by her dynamic and expressive eyes which communicated a lot with the rasikas. He added, "She got special training for eyes from Ambu Panikkar and Chathu Panikkar, the great maestros of Kathakali during her learning in Kalakshetra". This distinctive feature made her unique and extra special amongst other Bharatanatyam dancers in those days. Her name resonates in every dancer and art enthusiast's life, undoubtedly mesmerized by her very presence on stage. The evening's programs continued with an informative and enthralling talk by Dr. Sneha Sasikumar on the life and contributions of Yamini Krishnamurthy. She brilliantly handled the topic so that it could reach out to the laymen rather than preferring an academic presentation style. At the very early age of seven when she had just started the preliminaries of dance, Sneha recollected how she got transported to the phenomenal world of dance by watching a performance of Yamini Krishnamurthy on Doordarshan, who was addressed as 'dancing diva' by her mother. She analysed the history of Bharatanatyam by bifurcating it into two eras: before Yamini and after Yamini.   Kapila Venu The evening became more sanctified and divine for the spectators witnessing Kapila Venu on stage in 'Narasimhavataram' Nangiar Koothu. The attaprakaram (actor's manual) of this particular piece was written by Guru Venu G, and he conceived this as part of the navarasas training, for enacting Raudra rasa in the Navarasa Sadhana acting workshop, following the method practiced in the Kodungalloor Kalari by Bhagavathar Kunjunni Thampuran. Having watched Narasimha, one of the ten incarnations of Lord Mahavishnu in several styles of dance by various performers, the presentation of the same by this established, gifted artiste was a treat to the eyes leaving everyone present in awe and evoked the bhakti in its true sense. The actor entered as Padmavathi, the consort of the great poet Jayadeva; describing the heinous acts of the demon king Hiranyakashipu toward his son Prahlada for the latter's unwavering devotion to Lord Vishnu. The shift from the actor to Padmavathi to Hiranyakashipu to Prahlada was gracefully executed using the tool of 'Pakarnnattam', making the Kutiyattam actors stand out in each performance. The presentation reached its zenith with the actor's complete transformation to Narasimha, the most ferocious among the ten incarnations having a lion head and human body taking us to transcendence. The actor's exceptional skill could be seen even in the minutest of the bhava changes especially when the scary Narasimha after tearing the body of Hiranyakashipu, had a blood bath and feast with the demon king's blood and body parts immediately changed to the God showing karuna rasa (empathy), filled with vatsalya rasa (a feeling to own son) towards his devotee Prahlada when the latter touched his feet. One couldn't complete watching the whole act without tears and horripilation evoking the rasa nispatti. It was a much needed memoir that instilled a deep thought of the necessity to know more about the legends who left their ways for the younger generations to follow, hoping to uphold the values they had shaped in a lifetime.  Sonu SK is a Kuchipudi practitioner and a Senior Research Fellow, PSTU, Hyderabad. |
