BENGALURU: A solo dance feature titled Trishakthi—The Cosmic Triad was presented recently by young and beautiful dancer Anusha Sridhar, under the guidance of her guru Revathi Narasimhan of Natya Niketana.
The choreography was dazzling in its virtuosity and made a striking impression. Anusha’s solo Bharatanatya, at the JSS Auditorium, reflected not only professional training but a passion for dance. She has an awe-inspiring presence. Both the disciple and guru have proved to be exceptional artistes. And the ambitious presentation, with different kinds of poetry, was layered with extraordinary eloquence. Words, dance, translation, cultural commentary, lighting, music—everything added discrete zones of beauty, meaning and drama.
The theme was the eulogy of three diverse and distinct forces: Saraswati, Lakshmi and Parvati or Durga. They are the divine consorts of Brahma (Creator), Vishnu (Protector) and Shiva (Destroyer) respectively. It is to the credit of Anusha that she gave a passionate and technically daring performance. In her dance there was extraordinary speed, power and intensity. The abhinaya was done with sublime assurance, making light of the technical difficulties in interpretation.
Saraswati is the Goddess of learning, knowledge and wisdom. The word Saraswati means "the essence of the self." Since knowledge is necessary for creation, she symbolises the creative power of Brahma and imparts righteousness to all her devotees. The concept of keeping big idols of the three Devis during their turn was fetching.
Goddess Lakshmi or Sri is the goddess of fortune, wealth, power, and loveliness. Wealth means not only money, but also the higher values and qualities of life. The power of the mind and intellect is also a must if one wants true wealth, which includes spiritual wealth. These are prerequisites to attaining spiritual knowledge. That is why Lakshmi is worshipped. And Parvati represents love and devotion. She is often called Shakti, the energy of the universe. She is also associated with Durga and sometimes Kali as well. The name Parvati means “she of the mountains.” All these points were highlighted by Anusha.
The tales of Kalidasa, Daksha and others were enacted. Sanskrit shlokas, Kannada verses and other compositions formed the basis for the portrayal. They were tuned to classical and appropriate ragas like Hamsadhwani, Saraswati, Saranga, Mohana, Shanmukhapriya, Amrithavarshini, Dhanyasi and Kaanada.
The young dancer was authoritative and enterprising. With her awareness of the organic growth of each work, the show simply flowed on with integration and magnetism. The technically challenging character of Parvati delighted the audience. In Anusha’s performance, I was made much more aware of the strength and integrity of those compositions.
A significant part was played by Balasubramanya Sharma’s music. He sang with magnificent poise and clarity. He maintained an excellent intonation, rich sonorous sound and beautiful phrasing.
Lucid abhinaya
The two-day Shristi National Festival of Music and Dance was held at Nayana auditorium and Swarna Samuchchaya Bhavana, Kalagrama, on Saturday and Sunday.
The inaugural dance was performed by students of Natya Ninada Academy. Meera Sathyanarayana from Chennai surprised dance lovers by rendering the Pillari Geetas (Lambodara lakumikara, Malahari) in different kalas, packed with varieties of adavus and footwork. The mighty kriti of Thyagaraja, Ksheerasagara shayana in Devagandhari raga, was expounded with lucid abhinaya. During its detailed exposition, Meera dealt with the episodes of Gajendra moksha and Drowpadi maana samrakshana. The concluding Mishra Shivaranjani tillana was vibrant with interesting patterns of jatis translated into impressive dance language.
Well-knit choreography
The dancers of Shristi Centre of Performing Arts and Dance did a good job of presenting the story of Buddha.
Buddha is called Siddhartha before his enlightenment. As Siddhartha grows, his intelligence is matched with a compassionate gentleness. Unlike his peers, he spends a great deal of time alone. He does not participate in the common games of boys, but seeks the company of animals and nature. He defeats his cousin Devadatta, who has wounded a swan. Years go by. As the prince becomes a young man he continues in his gentle, quiet ways. This disturbs his father, who wants him son more involved in worldly matters. He gets him married to Yashodhara and they beget a son Rahula. On seeing the hard realities of life, he abandons a life of luxury and goes in search for truth, ultimately to become Buddha, the Enlightened one.
This story was depicted in a well-knit choreographic attempt. Colourful costumes were in tune with the characters depicted. Music, comprising clips from various sources, was recorded, and helped the narration progress. Senior dancers contributed their best to the presentation.
Dr. M. SURYA PRASAD
drmsuryaprasad@gmail.com