The colourful and attractive Krishna theme pervades all the forms of Indian art and culture.
This theme is always refreshing and rejuvenating.
High calibre artistes have always been successful in lending it with novelty and artistry.
The popular ISKCON of Rajajinagar has been actively and ceaselessly engaged in spreading the Krishna consciousness.
A versed philosopher, notable writer, art patron and dedicated devotee of Sri Krishna, Tiru Prabhu deserves to be commended in making classical music and dance a part of Sri Krishna worship at the ISKCON.
The efforts of Gayathri Shenoy in putting the cultural programmes are indeed laudable.
A new series called ‘Sri Krishna Leela Nrithya Seva’, a dance eulogy to Krishna began at ISKCON’s multi vision theatre on last Saturday.
The first programme was presented by Varsha Jayaram, a disciple of Guru Kiran Subramanyam and Sandhya Kiran.
The Bharatanatya recital by a merited dancer Varsha Jayaram at the multi vision theatre was full of vigour, feminine grace and charm.
Varsha was able to visualise the thoughts, emotions, sensitivity and actions of their Gurus in her enlivening dance presentation.
A little more than a two hour recital evidenced Varsha’s hard work, dedication and hold over the idiom.
She exuded an air of total involvement and confidence.
The Bharatanatya addicts found it extremely vibrant in movements and fast footwork.
The items were presented in a slick and polished manner by her.
She performed almost faultlessly and in fine coordination with the nattuvanga and music ensemble comprising of Guru Kiran (nattuvanga), Srivatsa (vocal), Madhusudan (violin), Jayaram (flute), Ramya Janakiraman (bell) and Srihari (mridanga).
The way Srivatsa split the Sanskrit words not only sounded musical but also made Varsha’s abhinaya perceivable and meaningful.
The other way too, all the artistes on the stage seemed to be distinctively inspired by the beautiful and evocative settings.
Dancing in the presence of Sri Tiru Prabhu and other knowledgeable rasikas Varsha rendered Pushpanjali and followed it with Aditya Hridaya shlokas.
Lord Sun who washes away all the sins and provides good health was saluted through those shlokas.
The familiar Bhowli krithi ‘Srimannarayana’ provided the material for the enactment of the greatness of Sri Narayana.
The line ‘Paramathma dashavidharoopa’ was explored to depict the ten incarnations.
According to the school of Dhananjayans of Chennai (who happened to be the Gurus of the Kirans) rendition of Varna is known as Nrithyopahara.
The 108 names of Sri Krishna were strung together into the yarn of Reetigowla raga (‘Sri Krishna Kamalanatho’) and Lord Krishna’s birth, leelas and illustriousness were captivatingly sketched by the dancer.
Her effortless nritta, nrithya and amazing histrionic abilities created a delightful experience.
Complicated jathis and varieties of aduvus and other technical details enthralled the all the dance enthusiasts and admirers of the art form.
Though the Kirans are traditionalists in their style, they are also highly creative choreographers who bring a lot of freshness into their programmes.
Not only the choreographic aspects but also the appealing live music and dance all deserved kudos.
Thus ‘Jagadodharana’ (Kapi) and ‘Baaro Krishnaiah’ (ragamalika) were endearing with appropriate satwika abhinaya and lokadharmi aspects.
Madhuvanthi tillana was a befitting finale.
Mixed results
A symposium of classical Carnatic music awareness and appreciation held under the aegis of Sri Rama Lalithakala Mandira at the Gayana Samaja yielded mixed results.
The questions raised about the structural system of learning, the role of samskaaraaas in the moulding of a great musician, the dwindling popularity of the veena instrumental recitals, Kannada compositions, voice culture, the role of tanpura, application of electronic gadgets, tani avartana, fusion music etc., could not be answered fully.
The discussion and debate conducted by mridangist Anur Ananthakrishna Sharma had Dr Srikantha, G V Neela, Sathyavathi, S Shankar, Varadarangan, H K Venkataram, Mysore Nagaraj, Mysore Manjunath, Jayanthi Kumaresh, Rajnarain and Giridhar Udupa as the panelists