JOIN USImpressive Kuchupudi
Vyjayanthi Kashi is a senior and popular Kuchipudi dancer. In her programme for Kalapremi Foundation, Vyjayanthi presented a number of Pravesha Daruvus with different characters like Ganesha and Satyabhama, which was packed with customary pieces of the Kuchipudi repertoire.
In “Amrutha Manthana,” dramatising different characters and situations Deva-Danava and Mohini - proved how she is thorough in the style.
Portrayal of Poothama was also impressive. In the Tharanga, dancing on brass plate sans water-filled pot, though a brief version, a rich variety of Jathis attracted with matured, polished and graceful performance.
Successful Nrityotsava
The Kalapremi Foundation conducted Nrityotsava - a festival of Indian dance with Bharathanatya, Kathakali and Kuchipudi recitals in collaboration with the Bangalore Club for Kathakali and the Arts. On Saturday the festival opened with a Bharathanatya recital by Sneha Narayan.
Sneha Narayan, a postgraduate in Bharathanatya received her initial training from G B Janardhan and higher lessons under Praveen Kumar and is continuing her studies with B Bhanumathi and Sheela Chandrasekhar. She has already performed in a few places like Delhi, Madras Music Academy, Mumbai, Bengaluru, etc.
“Devi,” “Shakthi Swarupini” - mother of all living beings on earth - was the theme of Sneha for her Bharathanatya recital for the evening. She had chosen different compositions to depict childhood, youth, devotion towards Shiva and Parvathy’s marriage and Mahishasura Mardhini and Mangala.
Her potential in both Nritha and Nritya came to fore in the varna. Her grace, beautiful expression caught the attention throughout the programme. No doubt Sneha Narayan has good future in the years to come. She concluded with another composition on Devi - a thillana of Dwaraki Krishnaswamy in raga Valachi.
Thousand voices together
It was amazing to see 1,112 singers singing together at the Samsa Open Air theatre, on Tuesday.
It was organised by the Ranga Samsthana, under the direction of Bandlahalli Vijayakumar, who already holds an entry in the Limca Book of Records. Vocalists from different schools and colleges, from 6 to 60 years, presented lyrics of both popular and lesser-known poets. “Om Sachidananda” by Kuvempu, gave the group a serene beginning. “Jogada Siri” by Dr K S Nissar Ahmed is another popular song. Bandlahalli had selected a number of Bhavageethe, patriotic and folk songs too.
Lyrics of Da Ra Bendre, Dr N S Lakshminarayana Bhatta, Dr Chandrasekhara Kambara, Dr H S Venkatesha Murthy, Dr K S Narasimha Swamy, Doddarange Gowda, Ka Vem Srinivasa Murthy, Satish Kulkarni and Gollalli Shivaprasad - brought a variety.
In the front line, a few senior singers led the group and experienced instrumentalists like Vasanth Kumar Kumble on keyboard, Ganesh Heggade on flute, Subramanya Heggade on sitar, Amith and Gangadhar on thabala - contributed much to the success. The ensemble, though more than thousand (1,112), sang in unison and received kudos.
Beautiful Mohiniyattam
Swapna Rajendra Kumar, senior Mohiniyattam dancer of Bengaluru, is a disciple of Sunanda Nair and is continuing training under Kalamandalam Kshemavathy, a Padmashree awardee. She is teaching young aspirants at her school, Nrityangana Institute of Performing Arts, Bengaluru, from last few years.
The Nrityangana presented the “Saalabhanjika” on Friday. Sculptures and bracket figures like in Belur temple, have been exploited by dancers and musicians alike. Now Dr C P Unnikrishnan Menon has written this “Saalabhanjika” in an attractive manner. It is in the form of a sculpture narrating to Devadasi, her story of how she turned into a Saalabhanjika from a stone. It also has the epic story of Ahalya, her curse, “Shaapa Vimochana” by Sri Rama and how a sculptor turned the stone into a beautiful Saalabhanjika.
Swapna Rajendra Kumar, apart from choreographing, performed beautifully. Bringing out all the salient features of Mohiniyattam, with impactful abhinaya and footwork, Swapna’s performance was quiet impressive.
Vocal by Kottakal Madhu was effective in creating an emotional impact. Anish K V on mridanga, P Nanda Kumar on Edakya, Kalanilayam Prakasan on Maddala, A Shankara Raman on Veena, Vivekanandan on flute and Shruthi Viswas on Natuvanga supported admirably.
Though a solo, three dancers provided a backdrop in chorus which suited the occasion.
Earlier Dr Nisha Mariammen, Meghna Madhavan and Deepika Nair - presented Purva Ranga (Rangadevatha Vandana) in Arabhi and Nrityarpana in Ragamalika. They performed with ease and confidence and in the customary costumes.