It’s a story of two states; two temples and a bilateral deity projected through dual dance forms prevalent in the two regions of the north and south of India. And what more, the performance was by ace male classical dancers of the present day - Abhimanyu Lal (Kathak) and Satyanarayana Raju (Bharatanatyam), a very apt choice to recreate the reigning deity of two major holy pilgrim centres viz. Varnasi Vishwanath and Thanjavur Bhrihadeshwara. A live orchestra for both enriched the thematic presentation.
Satyanarayana Raju is a stylistic dancer who steals the show as always with his unique body kinetics, footwork delineation and subdued abhinaya (gestures/facial expression). Contrary to the common expectations from a male dancer setting the stage on fire with his masculine power that can take its form in leaps and arduous knee-jerking (literally) moves, this dancer glows like a subtle lamp that lights up the entire space as it emanates a steady luminosity. The complex ashta ragamalika (a garland of eight ragas) set to the varnam format was a tough test to a male dancer but the artiste dispelled all our misgivings (if any) by playing out a feminine emotive piece with acumen and finesse. The song, ‘Sami ninne korinanu raa...’ (a romantic one on the surface) is all about a woman devotee totally immersed in the cosmic love of the lord of Thanjavur. The song and dance move from the physical to mental to esoteric planes and this was quite discernible in Satyanarayana’s delineation of lord Shiva’s attributes from the eyes of his ardent devotee and her own longing to unite with the Paramatma. The romantic lines of the song were expressed in dance with controlled abhinaya and a superb sanchari especially to ‘Thanjapuri Vaasa...’.The hand gestures (mudra) he held as he undertook an execution of footwork for a complex jati pattern (mnemonics) was highly impressive to say the least. So were his adavus to the swara (string of solfa syllables) prior to the line, ‘maati maati ki...’. The myriad stances he displayed to portray lord Brihadeshwara in the refrain bore testimonial to his control over the medium. For those who have a fairly good idea of the architectural marvel of the Thanjavur temple, the long leap he took to show the serpent hooding the tall Shiva linga of this particular temple mirrored the deity itself. A divinely touching wrap up lifted the dance to a higher plane. Srivatsa on the vocal, Lingaraju on the mridangam, Shakuntala on the nattuvangam and Raghunandan on the bamboo complimented the suave dancer.
Abhimanyu Lal’s ‘Ardhanareeswar kadath’ was an electrifying depiction of the male-female principle (Shiv-Shakti) which is at the core of all creation. The abhinay with chakkars was like the invocatory to the darshan of lord Vishwanath, which he presented with ‘Ganga tarang kamaniya...’. The story of the young devotee Markandey and his tryst with the lord of death (Yama), picturised through just the refrain- Om namah Shivaya , was creative artistry at its best. The feelings (ras) of bhayanak , bheebatsa and adbhuth fleeted across Abhimanyu’s countenance like quick silver as the story unfolded through dance. His feet seemed to fly off the stage as he transformed into an irate Shiva dancing with the trishul. Nothing could be heard but the tingling of his ghungroo! The verse to Shambu oozed bhakti bhaav as his performance drew to a close with a brilliant tihayee. The pure nritta pieces he later executed and his mime along with the fact that he sings melodiously left the audience amazed and full of appreciation. Padanth by Gitanjali Lal, and tabla by Yogesh Gangani were a fitting accompaniment. The show was hosted at India Habitat Centre, Delhi.
