The Bharathanatyam performance by Sathvika Ranganathan, disciple of Uma Sathyanarayanan, at Vani Mahal under the auspices of Sri Thyaga Brahma Gana Sabha, was marked by alacrity and agility.
The dancer commenced her recital based on traditional margam with a Pushpanjali in Nattai. ‘Thodudaiya seviyan’, the first Thevaram composed by Thirugnanasambandar when he was just three years old, which was also performed as part of the invocatory number, established the mood of the entire performance.
The next in line was a Pada varnam ‘Innum en manam’ in Charukesi composed by Lalgudi G Jayaraman. Choreographed by Chitra Visweswaran, the varnam was the central piece of the evening’s performance. The nayika calls out to Krishna, ‘Oh Yadhava, O Madhava’ asking him if “is it fine to behave the way you do? You do know my mind.”
Uma Sathyanarayanan, who is a student of Chitra Visweswaran, has instilled in her disciple the style of her guru. It came through in Sathvika’s crisp footwork and the supple swaying movements.
This was followed by a Javali by Pattabhiramayya in Khamas. Javalis are songs with sringara or love as the main theme. The characters — nayaka, nayika and sakhi — often indulge in playful banter. Here Sathvika portrayed a nayika , who expresses her sorrow to her sakhi for being subjected to undeserved blame because her unintentional acts made people misinterpret her and call her fickle-minded. This piece was taught to Sathvika by her previous guru Hemamalini Arni of Hyderabad. Sathvika’s abhinaya prowess came through in her portrayal of a Mugdhanayika.
Moving on from sringara to vatsalya rasa, Sathvika depicted the love shown by little Rama’s mothers in the popular Tulsidas bhajan ‘Thumak chalat Ramachandra’ in the Hindustani raag Gara. The bhajan extols the beauty of little Rama learning to walk. Lalgudi G Jayaraman’s thillana in Madhuvanti was the concluding piece.
The Aharya abhinaya goes a long way in making the dance more effective. One’s attention gets diverted from the dance when the dancer exhibits even the slightest discomfort in the aharya or attire. Which happened at Sathvika’s recital. Also, the youngster could do well by sharpening her nritta and bringing more intensity to her expression.
The orchestra led by Uma Sathyanarayanan in the nattuvangam played a vital role in enhancing the performance’s appeal. The vocalist Janani Hamsini needs to be applauded for her exceptional rendering of every song. Sujit Naik on the flute, Nandini Sai Giridhar on the violin and Dhananjayan on the mridangam were equally good.
Published – February 04, 2025 02:37 pm IST
