Kaladiksha, the Bharatanatyam institution of Meenakshi Chittaranjan, celebrated 25 years of existence at the Music Academy recently. The evening was all about the love and respect of the students for their guru and a celebration of an artist who has crossed many milestones and been rewarded during the journey. The production ‘Ekam’ (the Supreme Oneness), which was based on the Shanmata concept propounded by Adi Sankara, was an eloquent demonstration of these sentiments.
Choreographed by Meenakshi, ‘Ekam’ showcased her achievement in the past 25 years — dedicated students, good training and insistence on excellence. This was proved by the presentation, especially Om Shambho Mahadeva, Suryamurthe and Ksheerasagara. Ragam Revathi was apt for ‘Om Shambho’ (a Mysore Nagamani Srinath composition) rendered movingly by K Hariprasad and Vasudha Ravi. Saurashtram drew out some lovely vignettes of the Sun God – the glory, the brightness – all suggestively portrayed. ‘Valli Kanavan,’ a Kavadi Chindu, (Subbaraya Swami) brought forth the folk element. Also appealing was ‘Trishakti,’ a Ragamalika tuned by Rajkumar Bharathi.
The orchestra comprising Pandanallur Pandian (nattuvangam), Guru Bharadwaj (mridangam), J.B. Shruti Sagar (flute), B. Ananthakrishnan (violin), Ganapathy (tabla) was recorded, mixed and mastered by Sai Shravan with music direction and arrangement by Rajkumar Bharathi. Others, who contributed to the show were Murugan (sound and light design) veteran Sethumadhavan and Murugan (make-up), Chella (videography) Hari Bhaskar (photography).
It is always nice to hear the cheerful and dramatic Revathy Sankaran. She wove ‘Ekam’ together with her words and kept the proceedings going in a cohesive manner.
