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 Magnificent portrayal of Natya Shankara - Vijay Shanker e-mail: vijaydance@gmail.com Photos: Shiva Kumar March 25, 2025 Keshava Nrityashala and Abhivyakti Cultural Trust presented Kannada dance drama 'Natya Shankara', a special production on Lord Nataraja, at Nayana auditorium of Kannada Bhavana in Bangalore on 28th February. Magnificent portrayal of the varied 'Sapta Tandava' of Lord Shiva, fight against Tripurasura, Parvati's penance and ultimately the dance of joy and sublimation formed the dramatic highlights of Natya Shankara.  The performance commenced with Shivaganas praying to Lord Ganesha and salutations to Lord Shiva, while incorporating the interpretations of the Sapta Tandavas for the well-being, protection and happiness of all living beings. Lord Shiva strikes the damaru fourteen times that symbolises the creation of the cosmic world, pancha bhutas, nature, animals, birds etc. The later scene depicts the wives of Rishi Muni worshipping Lord Shiva but Rishi Muni misunderstands. So, he sends the tiger, the snake and Apasmara but is surprised as the Lord destroys all evil characters with ease. It is then that Rishi Muni realises that he is no ordinary mendicant, that he is none other than Lord Shiva and he asks for forgiveness.  The next scene depicts the penance of Parvati. In order to test Parvati's devotion to Lord Shiva, the Lord appears as an ordinary sage who makes fun of Lord Shiva. Parvati is enraged and questions him but suddenly the sage transforms and becomes Lord Shiva and together they perform 'Sandhya Tandavam' of joy, happiness and union as Saraswati plays the veena, Indra plays the flute, Vishnu the mridangam and Brahma maintains the talam. The later scene depicts the boon given by Brahma to Tripurasura who tries to misuse it, hence Indra flees and seeks the intervention of Lord Shiva and ultimately Lord Shiva destroys Tripurasura. Joy and happiness prevail, and all the gods and celestial beings dance merrily.  Conceived and choreographed by Guru BK Shyam Prakash and acharya Raghunandan, Natya Shankara is praiseworthy for its dramatic portrayals, performance and characterisations. Most of the artistes performed quite well. The music was suitable but too loud which was a deterrent to the presentation. Raghunandan as Lord Shiva maintained the majestic quality and grandeur of the Lord along with Manasi Pandya Raghunandan as Parvati with immaculate performance. Another male dancer who played his parts well was Nagendra who appeared as Nandi, Apasmara and Tripurasura. Rishi Muni and Indra was played by Bhoomika Gowda; snake, Brahma and Tripurasura was played by Sushma; Vishnu was played by Mandira, Tripurasura by Sri Raksha. Kannada lyrics and dialogues and the usage of Shiva Stotras and mantras enhanced the mystical appeal of the dance drama. The competent musical team comprised of Vinay Raajamanya on vocal, Skanda Kumar on flute, Geeta Shyam Prakash on veena, mridangam by Janardhan Rao, rhythm pad by Mithun Shakti and nattuvangam by Raghunandan S. On the whole, it was an enthralling presentation.  Vijay Shankar is a Kuchipudi and Kathakali exponent, teacher, bilingual journalist, arts critic and actor. |
