REVIEW / REPORT

Impressive evenings of music and dance

- Vijay Shanker
e-mail: vijaydance@gmail.com

August 16, 2026

ANUBHUTI
Swaralaya Sangeet Vidyalaya Foundation, Kandivli, Mumbai presented their annual day programme known as Anubhuti, a celebration of rhythm, dance and devotion, showcasing Carnatic music and Bharatanatyam at the exquisite Bharat Ratna Lata Mangeshkar auditorium in Mira Road on 4th July. It was an exciting evening for the participants and their parents, featuring little children to youngsters who are on the threshold of becoming professional performers.

Swaralaya is the leading academy for classical music and dance in the western suburbs of Mumbai, established by leading mridangist Satish Krishnamurthy and Bharatanatyam exponent Nisha Satish. Over the years, several music and dance aspirants have emerged successful with the able guidance provided by this dynamic couple. Satish says, "Anubhuti is the annual programme of music and dance, mainly to encourage children and youngsters to participate and promote Indian classical arts. Normally youngsters are quite influenced by western culture and lifestyle but it is gratifying to see a fraction of the society trying to learn classical music and dance with complete involvement and devotion, hence the annual programme is looked forward to with lot of excitement and expectation as the parents are thrilled to watch their children performing on the stage. We are immensely pleased with the wonderful response we receive every year".

Shaurya Satish

The programme commenced with invocations to the goddess of learning and knowledge, "Saraswati Namostute" (ragam Arabhi) rendered by Ahan Mandala, disciple of Guru Vijaya Krishnamurthy, with sincerity and devotion. Shaurya Satish, disciple of Guru KV Prasad, rendered a short but sparkling mridangam solo concert, based on adi talam, appreciated by the audience.

Satish Krishnamurthy & ensemble

The highlight percussion music concert "Rudra" led by Guru Satish Krishnamurthy on mridangam created a magical impact with the rendering of complex rhythmic sequences, impressing the audience with the musical magic of the percussion instrument. The Tala Vadya Kutcheri commenced with salutations to Ganapati, followed with the rendering of Shankaracharya's Pancha Akshara Shlokam "Na Ma Shi Va Ya". Satish is a versatile artiste. While he recites the Shlokam, the fingers move simultaneously, maintaining fine harmony of music, rhythm and divinity. Rutuja Lad was on vocal, Mukund Ramaswamy on violin, Madhusudhan Nair on ghatam, Sudhir Bhakta on konnakkol, Manoj Pandhya on octopad, Siddharth on dholak, Shaayaree Patil on Konnakol, and Rajeshwari Krishnan for compering. On the whole a fine melodious blending of percussion music, vocal music, the impact of konnakkol and the ultimate fantasy of the stringed instrument violin and the thrilling ghatam music, made the evening a memorable experience.

Nisha Satish

Guru Nisha Satish interpreted Bhavayami Raghuramam in "ekaharya abhinaya" portraying the "Maryada Purush" Lord Rama with the dramatic exposition of different episodes from the Ramayana, until the ultimate victory against evil. After Ranjanimala, the most dramatic presentation of the evening performed by the senior students was the incorporation of the ten incarnations of Lord Vishnu in Dashavataram, performed with lot of enthusiasm. Little children danced to the Gujarati song "Mhara Ghatma" and the grand finale item of the evening was the cosmic dance of Lord Shiva, "Natanam Adinar" exposing the sculpturesque poses of Lord Shiva, dancing to perfect rhythm.

The musical orchestra for dance consisted of Dr Somia for vocal, nattuvangam by Nisha Satish and Renuka Patki, mridangam by Satish Krishnamurthy, violin by Mukund, Sudhir on flute, Madhusudhan on ghatam and Manoj Pandya on octopad. On the whole, it was a pleasant evening of music and dance.

TALENTED DANCERS
Guru GV Ramani Natyakala Foundation presented two talented Bharatanatyam dancers, Sanika Shinde and Sanjana Pillai in a recital as part of the Aabhar series of programmes at Navi Mumbai Tamil Sangham Hall on 27th June. It was nice to watch the dancers dancing with lot of enthusiasm and devotion.

The Aabhar series was originally conceived as part of the centenary celebrations of Guru GV Ramani. He and Ranganayaki were among the foremost mentors in Mumbai to commence teaching Bharatanatyam to aspiring youngsters way back in the 1960's and Guru Gayatri Subramaniam takes the legacy forward for the future generations, with the establishment of the Guru GV Ramani Foundation. The series has now revived with a renewed vision, to celebrate the timeless Guru Shishya parampara and to express gratitude to the gurus.

Sanjana Pillai

A distinctive aspect of the evening was the repertoire showcased traditional choreographies of Guru GV Ramani and Guru Gayatri Subramaniam. Sanjana Pillai is the disciple of Guru Gayatri Subramaniam, and the recital commenced with Todaya Mangalam, a traditional invocatory piece choreographed by Guru GV Ramani. This was followed by Kashi Vishwanathashtakam, a devotional hymn extolling Lord Shiva in his form as the Lord of Kashi, followed by the Natesha Kauthuvam. Sanjana has a pleasing personality, making a fine start to her performance.

The Shabdam, Kandene Unnai, set in Ragamalika and mishra chapu tala, is a traditional composition that portrays the nayika's feeling towards Lord Muruga through a seamless blend of nritta and abhinaya. Keertanam Bansiwale composed by Maharaja Swati Thirunal, was the new choreography of Guru Gayatri Subramaniam that beautifully interweaves subtle expressions with graceful movement vocabulary. Sanjana has the potential to shine more with better exposure in festivals. The performance concluded with a Ragamalika Nrittapadam, composition of Muthuswamy Pillai, commencing with Manikyaveena viruttam, extract from Shyamala Dandakam of Kalidasa Pranitam, celebrated for its intricate choreography woven with Bhakti rasa.

Sanjana received fine orchestral support from Guru Gayatri Subramaniam for nattuvangam, Keerthana Krishnamurthy and Sujesh Menon for vocal, Prajesh Nair on mridangam and Bharat Raj on flute.

Sanika Shinde

The second dancer of the evening was Sanika Shinde, disciple of Dr Sandhya Purecha. Sanika danced with effortless ease and spontaneity, revealing her command over the essentials of Bharatanatyam. Sanika commenced with the Nataraja Kauthuvam in Hamsadhwani, a composition of Muthuswamy Pillai. The highlight number of the evening was the Marathi Varnam "Hariha Kapati", composition of Sarfojiraja Bhosale of Thanjavur in raga Ananda Bhairavi, featuring Kalahantarita nayika who fights with Lord Krishna and feels that he is 'kapati' (cheat), later repents and looks forward to meeting him. Kalaithuki demonstrated the varied nritta karanas exploring the cosmic dance of Lord Shiva. In the abhang "Abir gulaal udatete rang", the colours are smeared everywhere, revealing the message of equality among the devotees of Lord Panduranga. Sanika concluded her brilliant performance with the Shankarabharanam Thillana creating a lasting impression of vivaciousness.

Vijay Shankar is a Kuchipudi and Kathakali exponent, teacher, bilingual journalist, arts critic and actor.