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 Amazing satvikabhinaya - Dr.M Surya Prasad e-mail: drmsuryaprasad@gmail.com September 28, 2024 It is wonderful that the young dancer S. Raghunandan is making strides and achieving many milestones in the mostly female-centric field of Bharatanatya. Prominent among such achievements are the programs presented by him under a unique "Vaggeya Nritya Vaibhav Series." The latest two-day "Shyam Sangeeth Nrithyotsava-2024" held in memory of his late father, dance guru Dr. Shyam Prakash at Seva Sadan, Bangalore, and the fifth edition of "Vaggeya Nritya Vaibhava Series" gave the fans a unique treat.  Raghunandan as Sudama This time the poetess featured was Harapanahalli Bhimavva who is one of the prominent Mahila Haridasas of the Kannada literature. Harapanahalli Bhimavva's "Samseksha Ramayana" (a solo performance by Raghunandan), "Shiva-Parvati Sallap" by Raghunandan and his wife Manasi Raghunandan and "Sudham Charite"(a familiar story of Lord Krishna and his poor friend Sudhama) a dance drama choreographed, directed and led by Raghunandan. With Raghunandan himself as Sudhama in the lead role it turned out to be an emotional and artistic new dance drama and took the audience on a thrilling journey. The Shiva-Parvathi Sallapa (a light but lively and friendly conversation between Shiva and Parvathi) turned out to be a natural and neat demeanor. The singing, dancing and enactment of Bhimavva's down to earth lyrics transformed into a soothing dance and eloquent narration. The staging also witnessed an attempt at a new interpretation of those lyrical structures. With the incorporation of classical and captivatingly apt ragas, devotional music appeared. It opened up new moods and surprising possibilities of vocalization and dancing. While Raghunandan himself appeared matured in every aspect of dance and abhinaya (satwikaabhinaya in particular), his team members seemed to enjoy each aspect of the choreography and direction which brought to the fore the excellent art and technical details of Bharatanatya. Those details manifested flawlessly facilitating a new flavor to the enjoyment of poetry and dance. A live musical collaboration encapsulated in familiar and rare tunes was the plus point of the entire program.  Dr. M Surya Prasad is a multi-award winning music and dance thinker, scholar and critic. |
