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 In praise of Lord Rama- Vijay Shankere-mail:vijaydance@gmail.com June 24, 2025 Shreesaayujya School of Dance and Nrityadhee Dance Academy organised a two-day festival at the Indian Institute of World Culture, Bangalore, on 6th and 13th April, featuring 'Raama Saayujya' and 'Shivoham'. The dancers featured in the festival were Avijit Kundu, Saumya Sharma, Aparna Vinod and Vijay Kumar for Bharatanatyam, Devesh Nair for Kuchipudi, Odissi duet by Chandana and Lalitha and dynamic couple Yogesh and Sneha Narayan for Bharatanatyam. The thematic solo presentation 'Rama Geetamrita' with ekaharya abhinaya by Saumya Sharma was truly a garland of different compositions like Jaya Janaki Kanta of Purandara Dasa, Devadevam Bhaje, Sogasujuda Tharama of Tygaraja and the popular Hindi bhajan of Tulsidas Tumak Chalat Rama Chandra, a Devarnama by Kanakadasa. To conclude the Balakanda of Rama, a shloka was especially composed by Dr N Uma Maheshwara. Jathis and beautiful music by the veteran D.S. Srivatsa enhanced the devotional fervour of the performance. The different compositions portrayed varied facets of Lord Rama, his ideology of righteousness and being the 'Maryada Purusha' venerated by everyone. It was a pleasure to watch Saumya dancing with complete involvement and devotion.  Saumya Sharma  Aparna Vinod Menon Aparna Vinod Menon commenced with a beautiful Ganapati Stuti, Pranava Svarupa, followed with Parandamani Sharanam in praise of Lord Vishnu and his ten incarnations, a composition of Dandayuthapani Pillai, followed with Kanden Kanden Sithayai and concluded with a Valachi Thillana. Aparna dances with stylistic grace and innate expressions that creates a lasting impression on the audience. Incidentally Vijay Kumar also danced Kanden Kanden Sithayai. This number is an extract from Ramanatakam, that portrays the excitement of Hanuman when he sees Sita in the forest and informs Lord Rama about the good news. Vijay Kumar is an accomplished exponent and dances with effortless ease and proficiency. Vijay is Young India Fellow of Ashoka University and is presently occupied with his Phd thesis from IIM Kozhikode in Organisational Behaviour.  Vijay Kumar  Avijit Kundu Avijit Kundu is the director of Nrityadhee Dance Academy in Bangalore, the recipient of Nalanda Nritya Nipuna title and is among the talented Bharatanatyam dancers of the country. After the Thisram Alarippu performed immaculately, in the Lalgudi Jayaraman's Varnam in Charukesi, Radha tries to remind Krishna about the wonderful time spent together but Krishna does not listen. Avijit concluded his performance with a Bengali bhajan by Paramananda Chatterjee. Avijit received fine orchestral support from D.S. Srivatsa on vocal, nattuvangam by Saumya Sharma, mridangam by Srihari Rangaswamy, and flute by Narsimhamoorthy. The only Odissi duet of the festival, Chandana and Lalitha made a fine start with Nartana Ganapati. Commencing with diagonally opposite positions, they slowly merged together to describe the 'Vignaharta' with vibrant and powerful movements. Popular Odia composition Ahe Nila Shaila describes the devotion of 17th century Muslim poet Salabeg for Lord Jagannath, and the spiritual upliftment of this number, crosses the boundary of any particular religion. The sparkling duo concluded their performance with Moksha.  Chandana and Lalitha  Devesh Nair The vivacious Kuchipudi dancer of the festival Devesh Nair, disciple of Dr Vasant Kiran, created a fine impression with his "joie-de-vivre" style of dancing. He commenced with Kuchipudi Salamu with invocations to Balatripurasundari portraying the varied aspects of the goddess, interpreting her glory and feminine power. The typical sway of the hands for the 'salami' repeated in rhythmic precision, while revealing his command over the technique of Kuchipudi with spontaneous and athletic movements, was the highlight of the performance. Devesh concluded with the Balagopala Tarangam, executing intricate rhythmic patterns with precision on the rim of the brass plate.  Yogesh Kumar and Sneha Narayan The vibrant duo Yogesh Kumar and Sneha Narayan commenced their Bharatanatyam performance with Gam Ganapatiye Namah making a fine start, followed with Ramarasam and concluded with the dramatic portrayal of the monkey god Hanuman. The jumps and the flight movements of Hanuman was well executed by Yogesh. Both Yogesh and Sneha are acknowledged as among the well-known couple dancers of the country. Kudos to Avijit Kundu and Saumya Sharma for providing a platform to deserving performers.  Vijay Shankar is a Kuchipudi and Kathakali exponent, teacher, bilingual journalist, arts critic and actor. |
