BENGALURU: The Simhanandini, is one of the important, ancient, rich in significance and rare temple ritual dance form of Kuchipudi natya. Its tala counts have six talas or rhythmic cycles—Chanchatputa, Rati, Darpana, Kokilapriya, Abhanga and Mudrita talas, all adding up to an intricate and demanding Simhanandini tala of 128 syllables or counts. These talas are translated into dance with a deft rhythmic footwork that is preceded by verses and abhinaya extolling the Devi.
The composition based on Simhanandini tala is delineated in the form of a noteworthy abhinaya and footwork based nritta. The dancer concludes her elaborate visualization of the Goddess with a salutation to Kathyayani Devi by drawing a huge picture of a lion—which is the vaahana (mount) of Devi—with her facile and fluent footwork on a rangoli decorated cloth.
An expert and experienced Kuchipudi natya dancer Veena Murthy Vijay enthralled the audience at Seva Sadana, Malleshwaram with her authentic and adroit performance of Simhanandani during the Nrithya Utsava 2014 hosted by Natyakalakshetra of a meritorious Bharatanatya dancer Prashanth Gopal Sastry last Thursday. Appropriately accompanied by recorded music, Veena imbued her Kuchipudi natya recital with great interest and delight. She began with a Annamacharya krithi Valachi vacchi nenu vaarikigaanu set to Valachi raga. The interpretation of a nayika, who in search of her Lord Krishna eulogizes His greatness and splendor and expresses her anxiety to meet Him, was outstanding. Keeping intact the vaachika abhinaya (vocalizing the lyrics—the salient feature of Kuchipudi natya) throughout her recital, Veena was engrossed in dealing with the line Nallani vaadu padmanayana in myriad ways.
Her recital was followed by a compact and comprehensive nritta for Simhanandini. The song Kathyayani Sharvani Sumangali was strung in ragas like Kalyani, Madhyamavathi and other ragas. The dancer could underscore the varied attributes of the Devi in changing talas. A huge cloth was spread over the stage and rangoli powder was sprinkled on it. The eagerly awaited moments of traditional drawing of a lion’s image with the rhythm of the feet, which today has become more or less a lost skill, came. She executed the number with deftness. Covering the major part of the stage, the dancer substantiated the beauty of Kuchipudi natya while using her feet, to the mnemonic syllables and the melodic fervor of the poetry. The drawing emerged vibrantly as the dancer moved on the white cloth of rangoli powder. The excellence of rhythm and drawing artistry left a radiant and refined imprint of the dancer’s adavu pattern.
The lively picture of the lion sketched with the footwork was displayed at the conclusion of the performance.
Flexible and energetic
Earlier, the Nrithyotsava opened with a laudable Bharatanatya performance by young Bhuvana Prasad. She made use of her flexibility and energy in the performance particularly while depicting the postures of Shiva. Blessed with a well-chiseled face and eloquent mime, she carried the show with ease and confidence. The initial Today, a mangala proclaimed the traditional start. With a delightful nritta interspersed in between, she rendered the popular Jaya Janaki Ramana (Annamacharya, raga and talamalika).
A challenging composition in praise of Ardhanareeshwara was her next selection. Bound in a ragamalika, the male and female combination of Lord Shiva was neatly demonstrated. She was at her best in portraying the embodiment of Shiva and Parvathi and it was enacted with grace and energy. The half woman and half man form of Lord Shiva was beautifully projected on the
basis of Adi Jagadguru Sri Shankaracharya’s well-known
Ardhanareeshwara stotra Champeya Gowrardha Shareerakayai Karpoora Gowrardha Shareerakaya.
The jathis and swaras attached to the stotra were aptly converted into vibrant and meaningful nritta and nrithya. It was indeed a competent show. Her dance turned out to be a shared journey with the music.
Attractive presentation
The host of the dance festival Prashanth Gopal Sastry made his performance a curious one. A rare and old Ganapathi shabda which has a connect with the Mysore style of Bharatanatya was taken up for detailed treatment. His decision to use some of the basic movements and neck and eye manipulations enhanced the attractiveness of the presentation.
The Tanjavur Quartet’s ragamalika varna saami nine kori naanu ra in Todi, Shankarabharana, Kamavardhini, Athana, Kalyani, Bhairavi, Mukhari and Vasanta ragas, was captivating. Prashanth captured the traits of a virahotkanthita nayika, expressing her unwavering love, pleading for Tanjapurivasa’s response. What was always evident in his nritta and nrithya was the freshness and originality of his dancing. It was nevertheless firmly grounded in tradition and purity of true art. His naturalness, sincerity and dedication to the best commended him to audience. His abhinaya captured well the essence of Nayaki’s (female protagonist) emotions. There was a relaxed quietude to his entire approach without any frenetic urgency in his abhinaya. In the nritta interludes, characterised by the dancer’s statuesque grace and clean lines, a more definitive assertion imparted a neat contrast. Thus the nritta, abhinaya and foot work were amazing and the young dancers have to take a leaf out of his book.
The Aditya hridaya stotra and a shloka on Nataraja came off as a highly sensitive item in the nritta and abhinaya interaction of four students of a seasoned dancer-actress Shama Krishna of Shraddha School of Dance.