|     |
|
| |
 Nartana Priya 2025 - a homage to Gurus Krishnarao and Chandrabhaga Devi - Sowgandhika Krishnan e-mail: sowgandhikais@gmail.com Photo credit: V. Bansal June 14, 2025 The Nartana Priya (translating to love for dance) dance festival is an initiative of Dr. Pranitha Kamat, a Bharatanatyam artiste (Kalakshetra Bani) and Biomedical scientist based in Zurich, Switzerland. It is the performance wing of Natya Chittra, an arts education initiative founded by Dr. Pranitha. Into its second year, this festival showcases an afternoon of exclusive uninterrupted classical dance - a refreshing change from the time bound smaller performances we see at major events in Switzerland. This year the Nartana Priya festival (May 25, 2025) brought in a curator - senior dancer and Guru Sujata Venkatesh of the Pandanallur Bani. Guru Sujatha Venkatesh, a prominent Bharatanatyam artiste in Switzerland, runs the Omkara Dance school in Geneva. Coincidentally, Sujatha Venkatesh was working on her project 'Mahamaya', which aims to create a library of the entirety of her teachers, Masters Krishnarao and Chandrabhaga Devi's work. Both Dr. Pranitha and Sujatha Venkatesh decided to showcase the choreographies of the masters as a part of Nartana Priya this year as an apt homage to the Masters. Teaching Pandanallur Bani choreographies to a set of dancers who are from other Banis is a very novel attempt given that the dancers are typically used to one specific Bani all their lives. That excited the Pandanallur Bani practitioner in me to watch this show.  The pre-show presentation had young students present the different Banis and their differences for the audiences. It was well presented and informative for many in the audience who had their first brush with Bharatanatyam. The performance started with a Ganesha shloka. This was the only item in the presentation choreographed by Dr. Pranitha, everything else being the choreographies of the masters. This was followed by the Alarippu (Sankeerna eka tala). It acted as a nice warm setting to the numbers that followed. The Rudra and Durga stotra that followed the Alarippu were composed by Gurus Krishnarao and Chandrabhaga Devi in memory of their visit to the Mangeshi (Shiva) and Shanta Durga temples in Goa. The choreography used to be taught to and performed by their senior students in the 80's. With its lyrics drawn from the Rig Veda and Devi stuti, this was a treat to the ears as much as to the eyes. This was followed by the Gokulambudi chandra sundara Shabdam composed by Guru Ponniah Pillai in Ragamalika. It was performed by two young dancers who recently completed their Arangetram and their enthusiasm in presenting the piece was laudable. At this point, I was expecting to see a Margam performance with a nice crisp Varnam thrown in but what came up was the surprise in the form of 'Natanam Adinar'. It was choreographed by the doyen Meenakshi Sundaram Pillai himself as taught to his disciples Krishnarao and Chandrabhaga Devi. There is something different about choreographies that pass down generations - there is legacy, there is privilege in being considered worthy of learning and performing it, but above all there is simplicity- simplicity in the choreography with simple jathi patterns. That was my takeaway.  Then came the 'piece de resistance' for me as a viewer - Shringara Lahari in Neelambari composed by Lingaraj Urs with its emphasis on clean lines all through. The choreography of the masters Krishnarao and Chandrabhaga Devi stands tall here. I loved how they took one single aspect of the Pandanallur Bani, namely clean lines and emphasized that in the choreography and kept it simple rather than attempting to embellish it with everything. They truly stand tall as very worthy disciples of the doyen Guru Meenakshi Sundaram Pillai. This was followed by the lively Thillana in Poornachandrika composed by Poochi Sreenivasa Iyengar. The choreography for this number by the masters highlighted the 'kuluka nadai' of the Pandanallur Bani in all its glory. This choreography was a joy to watch. Ripe with formations and dancers moving all over the stage this piece brought alive the rhythm and served as a fitting finale number. The performance closed with 'Bhoomi Mangalam'. As a performing artiste and practitioner of the Pandanallur Bani, it was a treat to see the choreographies of the masters. One thing that would have added even more charm to the performance would be, having formations and getting dancers to move across the stage for the other numbers as well. It would in no way take away from the choreographies of the masters. Attempting to learn choreographies of a different Bani, presenting it keeping the specifics of the Bani intact and attempting to do justice is a tough order and a very commendable effort. On that front, kudos to the all the eight dancers who learnt and presented these choreographies. Big applause to Guru Sujatha Venkatesh and Dr. Pranitha Kamat for attempting such a concept.  Sowgandhika Krishnan is a Bharatanatyam artiste and theatre artiste, writer, choreographer and producer based in Zurich, Switzerland. She runs an entertainment startup SKR Entertainment in Zurich focusing on dance theatre productions, theatre based corporate training and dance in education and writes for 'Namaste Switzerland'. |
