Smt. Ramya Ramnarayanan - bharatanATyam
Sri Shajji Lal - naTTuvAngam
Smt. Nandini Sharma Anand - Vocal
Sri Hari Babu - mrudangam
Sri Kandadevi Vijayaraghavan - Violin
Sri Murugan and Sri Venkatesan - Audio and Visual Effects
I finally caught a dance performance, and I was so happy that it was the performance of an artist from NJ!
I was a few minutes late, thanks to the mess that is called traffic!
The list from when I entered the hall:
1) gajavadanA karuNA sadanA - Sri ranjani - Papannasam Sri Sivan
2) alArippu in tiSram
3) sAmiyai azhaittODi vADi - navarAgamAlikA padavarNam of Sri Dandayudapani Pillai
A composition the pangs of the heroine who is pining for Lord Siva
4) palukutEnela tallI - AbhEri (??) - Annamacharya
A SringAra padam describing the abandon with which alamElumangA sleeps after spending the night with the Lord of the veNkaTa hills - the perspiration on her face like dew drops on a lotus, her half open eyes filled with satiated desire, her curly locks unbound, and in disarray, and her pallU completely off her.
5) vishamakAra kaNNan - a very folksy sencuruTTi - OVK
6) tillAnA - yamankalyAN - Lalgudi Jayaraman
The performance:
It is very hard to give/get a flavor for a performer in the 1:30 minute-slot that BVB allots dancers. That being said, Smt. Ramya utilized the time very efficiently to showcase all the positives about her vazhuvUr style bharatanATyam. I am not sure if the invocatory piece was a tODayamangaLam or a kauttuvam. The Sri ranjani piece was very well done, with the dignity commanded by hEramba! It segued into the tiSram alArippu with crisp Sollus and fluid movements. The choreography was mostly traditional, but with much more of the steps in 'muzhu manDi' - a testimonial to the artist's knees!
The padavarNam that followed was the highlight on the program - lasting nearly 40 minutes, it was replete with sancArIs. The opening trikAla jati was very dignified - no evidence of crazy kaNakkus, or use of bIjAkshara mantrams - just seamless movements to soothing jatis recited with authority. The aDavus were executed completely, which was beautiful to watch - nothing was left incomplete, even in the higher speeds. The sancAri to the first line of the pallavi included the procession of the Lord witnessed by the heroine, who is smitten the second her eyes behold him. The segment showing the Lord moving, and the devotee who is sprinkling flowers on the path alternately was very effective with an admirable economy of movement. The sancAri for 'mA madi mukham kanalAi vISudaDI' was very nicely done. The line set to vasantA (vasantAmruta vELai) was elaborated showing the birds and bees in spring, a pair of love-birds, a deer and doe, a peacock and peahen, and the how heroine's longing become magnified when she sees all these 'jODIs'. I particularly loved the vocalists tAnam in vasantA during the sancArI. The jati that followed was very appropriately full of light steps, leaps, turns and twinkle-toed ullAsa naDai. As an aside, I found the caraNam rather strange - it goes, 'sadA ninaivu koNDu mayyal mIrudE, SankarAbharaNanai' - which literally should mean, 'continual thoughts of AdisESa (SannkarAbharaNan - one who adorns Sankara - viz, AdisESa) are fueling excessive desire'. And not 'continual thoughts of Siva are fueling excessive desire'!
The padam (palukutenela talli) that followed was presented with restrained and dignified abhinaya. It was presented from the view of alamElumangA's hand-maidens who come to make the bed, only to find her still asleep despite the fact that it is light outside. vishamakAra kaNNan was the pick of the day. If one felt that Smt. Ramya had kept a part of herself aloof during the previous pieces, in this she was able to convey the sublime, IMO. It was performed with aplomb and energy. Lalgudi Sri Jayaraman's yamankalyAN tillAna is one of my favorites - another high energy piece. It started with a savAl javAb segemnt, and proceeded to the lilting and ebulllient tillAnA as the fitting finale of this performance. Sri Shajji Lal's naTTTuvangam skills are awesome. He brought energy, excitement, and precision to the performance. Smt Nandini Sharma Anand's vocals were very nice, with clear enunciation. Kandadevi Sri Vijayaraghavan gave perfect support. The rAga outlines before the pieces were brief, but brought out the svarUpa. Mr. Hari Babu played tastefully - blending in with the music for the most part, and very authoritatively during the others. Sri Murugn and Sri Venkatesan were simply stupendous with the lights and sound effects. The lights in particular were synchronized beautifully with the music, the mood, and the portrayal on the stage. I just wish that the final dimming in each piece did not have to happen so quickly.
Overall, a brief, but very nice performance. My best wishes to the team, to Smt. Ramya's students, and Master Rishikesh in their future performances.