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 Subharambha by Suman Bari - Esha Banerjee e-mail: eshabanerjeedance@gmail.com Photos: Arijit Roy October 5, 2024 This year on Onam (15th Sept 2024), I attended the solo concert of Suman Bari, a young mother whose passion and hard work reflected in her every move. Since the solo performance came after a long time (marriage and pregnancy), it was named Subharambha, a new start. Suman is an established teacher running her own institute 'Kalanibhuti' and is a regular performer at Angamantra, her Guru Samrat Dutta's group.  It rained heavily outside as Suman elegantly dressed in a blue costume started the evening with Pushpanjali set to ragam Nattai in chatusra ekam followed by a simple Chatusra Alarippu. The Natyashastra's slokam was chosen carefully paying homage to Bhudevi. The Sanskrit verses enchanted the audience from the word go. Next came the beautiful Telugu Varnam "Sri Rama Chandra nannu brova iti manchi samayamura" set to ragam Todi. Musically composed by Seetharama Sharma and choreographed by Praveena Kutty, the raga did its job evoking a mood of delighted adoration and a gentle, loving sentiment. Samrat Dutta had cleverly tweaked the choreo with Suman in mind and it sparked flames. Jatis were short and crisp while the sancharis were used to narrate different stories from the life of Lord Rama. From Shabari's innocence to Sita Kalyanam to Vishwamitra's assistance to Kaushalya's pain, Suman climbed the stairs to paramananda and made us want more. In the age where Varnam is slowly losing its popularity and in some places has been crushed to a 10 minute item for competitions and exams, this was such a pleasant experience. This piece kept the traditions intact while adding the modern touch. The Ninda stuti "Suddha paitiya kaaran Gangadharan" was a composition of Muthutandavar on Shiva set to chatursa ekam in ragam Kalyani. Tamil lyrics choreographed by Samrat himself, it captured the nuisance of an Adhama and a Uttama Nayika. The taunting of these Nayikas go to an extent (perhaps to Suman's credit) where the audience identify it with their own love life. Suman ended the evening with Malkosh Tillana. Similar to Hindolam, this raga is very popular as it gives a soothing feeling. The sollus were choreographed in a way to give Suman breathing space. Musically composed by the vocalist Swati Atmanathan, the sahityam was on Devi Durga. The verses were taken from Brihat Stotra Ratnakara and with Durga Puja round the corner, each one in the audience was elated.  Sangeetha Prasanna provided interesting facts about the compositions. The emcee of the evening Shriradha Paul did a great job, she herself being a reputed Odissi dancer. The artistry of the ensemble was flawless and central to the performance. Acharya Samrat Dutta led the orchestra with his nattuvangam, seamless in kala pramanam and voice modulation. Swati Atmanathan was impressive as the vocalist. She being a young Bharatanatyam performer herself, rendered pleasing music and effectively captured the bhava of every piece. Sarvesh Kartic was in charge of percussion and Rick Mukherjee, a Hindustani flute player supported the performance with grace. Suman is a good dancer but what made the evening exceptional is the clever selection of items, crisp choreography and simplicity merged with grace. While coming back home, the drizzle from the sky felt like blessings... as if the heaven was blessing Suman.  Esha Banerjee is a performer, teacher and organiser based in Kolkata. She completed her Arangetram under the guidance of Guru Rajalakshmi Venkateshwara. She has been trained in Kathak from her maternal aunt Guru Mira Dasgupta, and completed her initial training in Odissi from Anindita Mukherjee. She is a recipient of Junior Fellowship from CCRT. Currently Esha organises competitions, workshops, seminars and festivals under the banner of Nrityashree. |
