A promising and ambitious danseuse Dr Mythili Anoop presented a Mohiniattam recital at India Heritage Academy, Koramangala last week. Not only was the lyrical elegance of her performance admirable, but her abhinaya (expressions) also made her performance a glowing one. She is blessed with a wonderful stage presence and expressive eyes which are very essential for Mohiniattam. Her timely expressions and graceful movements were a visual treat. Her dance performance had both substance and structure. She did her Guru Gopika Varma proud by neatly rendering the numbers choreographed by her.
Suitably supported by her Guru Gopika Verma (nattuvanga), Arun Gopinath (vocal), Radhika Venkataramana (violin), G S Nagaraj (mridanga) and Achutanandan (edakka), Mythili’s program had a neat and taut structure. The grammatically prescribed contours of her nritta in the opening Chollakattu (Kaanada) were interesting to watch.
The typical gliding movements (the andolika sway of the torso and the Vaishnava sthanam or main (plie) half-seated central stance of the dance were pertinent) in the vilamba kaala captivated the rasikas. The jatiswara or swarapallavi (Bahudari) was a delight. The blemishless rhythmics in a medium tempo found eloquent expressions in her dance form. The Todi Varna (Daani saamjendra) addressed to Lord Padmanabha incorporates the emotional state of the nayika as she longs to meet her Lord.
It portrays the complete character sketch of that nayika who wants her sakhi to convey her message to the Lord. The negotiation of this varna by Mythili revealed the dancer's expertise over the essential aspects of nritta, nrithya and abhinaya with a high degree of expressional quality that regaled the lovers of dance. Those delicate movements, deep torso inflections and graceful undulations lent authenticity to her dance.
Good characterisation and pretty activity on the stage made Tanjavur Shakara Iyer’s familiar keerthana on Lord Shiva Mahadeva Shiv Shambho in Revathi raga an enjoyable experience.
Mythili’s craft in the visualization of episodes like Bhakta Makendeya, Ravana veena and Gangaavatarana was laudable. A welcome and praiseworthy Kannada Javali by Dwaraki Krishnaswamy (Anandabhairavi) and a tillana (Husseni, trishra nadai trishra triputa tala) completed the repertoire of this elegant dancer.
Classically redolent veena play
A seasoned veena vidwan D Balakrishna offered a restrained and classical redolent veena recital at the Indian Institute of World Culture, Gandhi Bazar. The accompanists H S Sudheendra (mridanga) and Dayananda Mohite (ghata) too were restrained as per the dictates of the music.
The balmy mood of the string play was enriched by a judicious selection of the compositions which lent themselves to fluency in instrumental music. Balakrishna began with Sri Ganapathini (Sowrashtra). Entavedikondu (Saraswathimanohari), Nee -du mahima (Hamsanandi), Nagumomu(with alapana, Abheri) and Marivere (Anandabhairavi, Shyama Sastry) were a classical treat. A mature raga and tana delineation of Bhairavi was prefixed for Purandaradasa’s Odi baarayya. He varied the structure and contouring of each raga to suit the krithis which followed. The rendition of a series of Kannada compositions like Innu daya baarade (Kalyanavasantha), Narayana (Shuddha Dhanyasi), Jagadodharana (Kapi) and others sounded fresh and soothing.
Delightful experience
Though with technical and artistic hiccups, the Shashirekha Parinaya Kuchipudi Yakshagana by Pashumarti Ramalinga Sastry and troupe at the Chowdaiah Memorial Hall during the Samanvay Arts festival held under the aegis of Veena Murthy Vijay’s Sri Raja Rajeshwari Kala Niketana, evoked a delightful experience. The story drawn from Mahabharatha revolving around the marriage of Abhimanyu with Shashirekha involving Balarama, Krishna, Shashirekha, Abhimanyu, Duryodhana, Ghatodgaja and others was impressively unfolded. Veteran Pashumarti Ramalinga Sastry as Krishna was a picture of profound artistry.
His nattuvanga was also effective.
The entry of the main character with tera (curtain) was true to the Kuchipudi tradition.
The colourful and mythological costumes, use of traditional props and the adaptation of Carnatic music (use of Mohana, Kambhoji, Darbar, Kadanakutoohala and other ragas) enriched the performance. The nritta and nrithya were complimentary to the exclusive abhinaya marked by a conspicuous vaachika.