The second day of the Sadhana festival organised by Indisha in Sadguru Gnanananda Hall of Narada Gana Sabha, featured two male artists, whose performances were striking by sheer virtue of their hard work, dedication and passion.
Right from the invocation, ‘Adbhuta Nartanam,’ a composition of Madurai Muralidharan in Gambhira Nattai, Nidheesh Kumar's sound training in the technique of pure dance was evident. The highlight of the evening's performance was Nrithyopaharam in Dharmavathy set to Adi talam, a composition of the violinist, the late Seetarama Sarma. Beginning with the words ‘Paramasiva nannu paripalimpumu,’ the composition gave ample scope for the dancer to dwell on various episodes like that of Markandeya, Kannappar and Nandanar. The recital of dhalanku-thaka-dhiku, signalling the commencement of each jati, in Khanda gathi, smoothly transitioning to the chaturasra gathi was interesting. The jatis themselves, composed by Shantha Dhananjayan were an audio visual treat.
Papanasam Mudaliar's ‘Natamadi thirinda,’ a nindastuthi on Lord Nataraja (Khambodi Khanda Chapu), though a beautiful composition by itself proved to be slightly repetitive on account of the thematic similarity with the varnam which preceded it. Nidheesh used his angika abhinaya effectively to convey his ideas, while his Satvika abhinaya needs to mature with time and experience.
The Purvi thillana of T. Vaidyanatha Bhagavathar, which formed the finale, was marked by verve and vigour. Investing it with intermittent moments of silence would have added value. Except the varnam that was choreographed by the Dhananjayans, the items presented were individually or jointly choreographed by Nidheesh and his wife Indu,who also ably conducted the programme that evening.
The overall experience was heightened by an eminent team of musicians, with K. Hariprasad providing the expert vocal support, Guru Bharadwaj on the mridangam, Kalaiarasan on the violin and T. Sashidhar on the flute.
‘Punar labhyam’ was presented by the dancers of Avigna Dance Ensemble, jointly headed by G. Narendra and his associate K. Mahalakshmi. For Narendra, an alumini of Kalakshetra, it is a come back to the stage after almost a decade. The hiatus has greyed his hair but not his spirits.
The opening number ‘Ganaraj Rangi’ (Bahar, Eka talam) was a burst of energy bringing alive the Lord astride his Mooshika Vahana. Maharaja Swati Tirunal’s composition ‘Sankara Srigirinatha Prabho’ (Hamsanandi) that followed was power packed, with the the dancers doing justice to every bit of the demanding choreography. Mahalakshmi, also making a comeback after several years displayed a judicious blend of the grace of the Vazhuvoor bani into which she was born and the precision of the Kalakshetra bani.
Balamurali Krishna's composition, ‘Marulu Konnaney’ (Chenchuruti, Misra Chapu) presented by G. Narendra and his wife Deepa, was a sensitive and aesthetic exploration of the sentiment of love. Deepa proved that she could be as subtle with her abhinaya as forceful with her nritta. What came as a pleasant surprise was Purandara Dasa's ‘Jagadoddharana,’ an all time favourite of dancers and musicians., which Narendra handled in an unusual manner. Contrary to the familiar approach of dwelling on the poet’s devotion Narendra focused on making his exposition a sheer experience of vatsalyam or motherly love. To weave the group dancers into the choreography in a manner that was not distracting from the gentle flow of emotions was a brilliant streak of creativity.
The Khamas thillana of Lalgudi Jayaraman reflected the sound technical grounding of the dancers, many of whom we have not seen in the regular performance scenario. The programme drew to a close with Pandit Jasraj's Hanuman Bhajan. A fitting finale to a performance that Narendra had dedicated to his father, who was the source of inspiration in his artistic pursuit. The members of the dance troupe included Premila Ramesh, Abhinaya, Rofia, Aparna S, Aparna K and Pavithra Ramesh. The musical genius of eminent artists who were part of the recorded music, elevated the performance to a different plane altogether. A little more attention to costume and make-up would have added to the visual aesthetics of the entire programme.
