Performing a Bharatanatyam duet is a demanding task. It calls for total involvement, perfect understanding, precise coordination and matching talents. It is a testing time to perform duets both for the performers and the Guru-choreographers. Hail the Bharatanatyam duet held at JSS auditorium by Bhumija and Supraja trained under the veteran ambassador Kalakshetra of Chennai professor M R Krishnamurthy, popularly known as Kitty Sir. It was a completely eloquent composition, calling to mind poetry, theatre, mime and music harmonised with the greatest care and absolute perfection of movements.
The sisters moved gracefully across the stage, often mirroring each other’s motions and performing perfectly in unison. Their dance was filled with energy too. It provided a look at how different choreographers and dancers create duet performances. The evening focused on usual pairings and was filled with expansive movements. The dancers lunged and sliced, scooped and swept according to the demands of the intricate laya. They stepped together and diverged to dance separately, froze into attractive freezes and struck clear gestures. The duet pieces had an array of artistic resources.
The first half of the evening’s programme saw both of them performing together. Their talent, artistry, stage presence and good grip over the medium got integrated beautifully to a loveable chemistry of delight.
Accompanied appropriately by Aparna (nattuvanga), Radha Badri from Chennai (vocal), Dr Natarajamurthy (violin), Mahesh Swamy (flute) and the every dynamic mridangist Lingaraju (mridanga), Bhumija and Supraja opened their duet with a traditional trishra Alarippu. The neck movements and the gradually increasing pace of the rhythm warmed up the artistes and set a lively tempo to the performance. The ragamalika jathiswara (mishra chapu) evidenced the nritta abilities of the dancers. A familiar Shabda Sarasijakshudu jalakamaade (Kalyani) was neatly enacted.
Mysore Sadashivarao’s Dhanyasi varna Ee maguva bodhinche is yet another dancers’ favourite composition. In this varna, the nayaka and nayika are locked in a direct conversation. The nayika pleads with her nayaka to come back to her.
She wants to know as to why he is indifferent and angry towards her. She reminisces the glorious moments spent with him.
Bhumija and Suprija visualised that pining nayika and nayaka in their excellent presentation. The nritta and nrithya interspersed liberally not only contained varied intricacies of laya but also brought to the fore the dancers’ mastery over them. Almost 40 minutes of delineation could underscore the subtleties of the technicalities and artistry of Bharatanatyam.
The latter half of the evening highlighted the histrionic talents of the sisters. First, it was Bhumija who dwelt upon a Kshetrajna pada. Set to Kambhoji raga the pada Baala vivate is addressed to Krishna. She sketched the nayika who reminds her hero Krishna of their childhood days since when they have been in love with each other. Adapting a Akka Mahadevi vachana to Bharatanatyam abhinaya was a good idea indeed. With a shloka prelude Supraja was admired for her interpretation of Holeva kangala. Bhumija as Andal and Supraja as sakhi explicated Vaarenamaayaram drawn from Andal’s Nachiyar Tirumoli and portrayed Andal’s dream sequence in which she finds herself being wed to Lord Venkateshwara who arrives at her place in a grand procession. Supraja’s abhinaya for a javali era raaraa (Khamach) was mature. The duet ended with Pharaz tillana rendered by both the dancers.
Enthralling recital
In the Gokulashtami concert series being held at a serene Sri Venugopalakrishna Swamy Temple premises the renowned singer Sanjay Subramanyam enthralled the audience with his profound singing and artistry. Excellently accompanied by S Varadarajan (violin), Neyveli Venkatesh (mridanga) and Guruprasanna (khanjari), Sanjay had a weighty list of compositions for the evening. Though at the outset, one missed his usual punch, gradually he settled down to come back to his usual elements.
The Narayanagowal varna was the opening number. Rightly too, he saluted the presiding deity of the temple Sri Venugopalakrishnaswamy through Koteeshwaraiyer’s Sri Venugopaladeva in Darbar raga. Thyagarja’s Nenendu vedukudura (Karnataka Behag) was sung with short and scholarly swaras. Mukhari alapana and the krithi Enthani ne varnintunu with swaras set a lively mood. A brief Athana alapana followed by Sadashivarao’s Vachamagochara was classic. Poochi Srinivasaiyengar’s mighty kriti Sri Venkatesham varam was rendered with all respects to its structure and bhaava. Edayya gathi in Nata raga was sung in a telling manner.
Sanjay captivated the rasikas with his raga, tana and pallavi set to Valachi (in Hindusthani it is Kalavathi). It was surprising to hear the pallavi line in Hindi language. The raga expansion was marked by classicism and sound approach. He covered all the facets of the raga in his expansive and systematic elaboration. Aaja Giridhar tu aaja apana banaake leja in Hindi was interestingly developed in different speeds. It was crowned with a ragamalika swaravinyasa. Tamil songs like Karpuram narumo kamala (Khamach raga, drawn from Andal’s Nachiyar Tirumoli), Petra thai (Viruttam in Sindhubhairavi, senchu rutti and Nadanamakriya ragas) and Arar asai padar (Muthu Thandavar) drew instant applause. Before concluding with a mangalam, he sang Radha sametha Krishna (Yamunakalyani).