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 Meenakshi Srinivasan: Perfectionism personified - AM Hari Shankar e-mail: hshankar252@gmail.com Photos: Priyanka B December 16, 2024 "A thing of beauty is a joy forever" - the words of John Keats comes to mind, after witnessing geniuses of Indian classical dance, like the ace Bharatanatyam dancer Meenakshi Srinivasan in an evening at Soorya, Kerala. The recital commenced with the accompanying ensemble's salutation to Lord Ganesha "Pari Pari Nee Padame", a composition of Balamuralikrishna, set in raga Hamsadhwani and adi talam, setting the tone for the audience to look forward to the upcoming moments of artistic brilliance. The initial performance item comprised of a verse from Srimad Bhagavatham followed by "Kalyani Khalu Yatkatha," a composition by Maharaja Swathi Thirunal, set in Chatur Ragamalika, rupaka talam. The first "Kalyani khalu yatkatha trijagatam papaughavidhvamsini", in raga Kalyani was a prayer for Lord Keshava to protect us, the recitation of whose stories are so auspicious, cleansing sins of all the tri-worlds. The multiple varieties of sancharis she performed was commendable. "Yallavanyam asosagopa kamani netraika sammohanam" in Mohanam was ati manoharam, reflecting how his bewitching beauty lured all gopis in Vrindavan, aided by set of swarajathis in between, that illustrated the nritta aspects too. "Sarangam pada nakra bheetam agatim yoapa alayat satva-ram" set in Sarangi and "Paada nakra...." in a fast paced manner aptly gave the gist of struggle of Gajendra, the elephant who was attacked by a crocodile, previously Huhu, the Gandharva King, who attains moksha by penance of thousands of years with his feet inside the crocodile's dagger teeth. "Bahuryasya ca shankaraabhara najit paayaatsa vah Keshavah" praises his sacred arms, excels and humbles the serpents which Shiva adorns as his ornament, set in Sankarabharanam, with a soothing flute while concluding mark the subtle nuances of the Nayika's adoration and prayer to her Lord.  This was followed by an astounding Varnam of about 33 minutes, which showcased not only the dancer's artistic brilliance but also probed into the maximum magnitude a human body can be molded for dance in terms of technical perfection, creativity, musical extravaganza, energy exchange between the dancer and the rasikas and many more realms. A composition of Balamuralikrishna in Shanmukhapriya ragam and adi talam, it was a salutation to Lord Krishna as the embodiment of the supreme and absolute consciousness, Krishna as the primordial sound Om as a result of communion of Sruthi, Laya and Swara. Meenakshi deciphered different ways to elaborate on Krishna consciousness. The frequent transitions between Chaturasra and tisra gati in between crisp nritta derivatives and chollus were impressive, with the divine element maintained by the flute rendition. The sways and perfect araimandi were an absolute delight to watch. The varnam culminates with a depiction of Krishna, the one who reclines on banyan leaf as Vatapathrashaayi, who has assumed this form out of his divine and playful will, to please his bhaktas. The very detailing of the story by the dancer was accompanied in the background by raga alapana on violin, captivating the audience into the essence in advance and Om chanting by flute was also commendable. The beauty of her nritta brilliance is well acknowledged around the globe. What was impressive was the perfect blend of postures and jathis without repeating the steps, yet complex, with a charismatic posture reflecting the architect in her by perfect curves and alluring sways. The depth in Meenakshi's eyes seemed a literal depiction of her name. The skillful usage of flute and violin for jathis, a fresh approach added more charm to her choreographies. A choreography on a poem by 17th century poet Shiva Prasad Swamikal, was an abstract from Thanippadal Thirattu. It is a humorous imagination of a dialogue between the newly wed Shiva and Parvati where Parvati is quite astonished when she catches a glimpse of a young lady inside the matted locks on Shiva's head. She enquires and puts Shiva in a predicament, which was subtly portrayed without overdoing. He explains it as not an ordinary lady, but a long trailing mighty torrential watercourse; followed by several rounds of questions, pushing Shiva to a point where he says, Nangayena, (no more disputes, my beautiful lady). Ganga, listening to this phrase, thinks she's being called and emerges from the top of his matted hair. The switch between Shiva and Parvati was dealt elegantly with the audience getting increasingly inquisitive about the next responses of each. In the Kshetrayya padam, Krishna is in a state of longing for his love by looking at a painting he had made of both. His yearning that he could draw her lotus like face without fragrance, her lips without sweetening it with honey, sensuous eyes without staring glances were portrayed with utmost sensitivity and composed way, exploring the distinguishing abhinaya of her repertoire. The mellifluous rendering of flute in this particular piece, diligently infused at certain passionate portrayals, made it more appealing.  She concluded with a Balamuralikrishna Thillana set in Taiyyaragamaalika and adi talam. Flute rendering of Kalyani before the dancing, received a satisfying applause. Complex rhythmic patterns with exquisite adavu execution, with her sharp glance over the audience as if she was conversing with the jathis with them, had the rasikas in a state of elation. The recital's finale had the 21st verse of Mukundamala, a 12th century text by Kulashekhara Alwar- Oh! Lord Gopalaka, I know no one other than you and I earnestly pray to protect me - reflected the complete spiritual immersion of the dancer, which was perceptible all through her performance. The flawless accompanying team had Jayashree Ramanathan on nattuvangam, vocal and musical inputs by Kaniyal Hariprasad, soothing yet bold beats on mridangam by Venkatesan Vedakrishnaram, and the marvelous Easwar Ramakrishnan and Mahesh Swamy on violin and flute, respectively. The camaraderie between them and the dancer was very much evident from the dancer turning emotional while acknowledging them. To be able to communicate the varied planes of dance, music and spiritual anecdotes with the audience of the current generation, demands not only the expertise in dance but also in music, storytelling and presentation which Meenakshi had always in conceptualizing her recitals.  A M Hari Shankar, an art enthusiast, percussionist and a connoisseur of Indian Classical Arts is a Biologist-Educationist by profession, based in Delhi. Recipient of the Ministry of Culture Scholarship, his areas of interest include Life Science, Indian Arts and Spirituality. Some of his articles have been published in leading journals and newspapers. |
