Dance and art Depicted Ashtadikpalakas at Nithya Nrithya
Bharatanatya school Nupura deserves to be commended for its national level classical dance festival titled Nithya Nrithya, held recently in Bengaluru. Veteran and erudite exponent of Mysore style of Bharatanatya, Dr Lalitha Srinivasan, assisted by her husband D Srinivasan, is credited with bringing in past and present maestros of dance to the garden city and to create cherished memories for lovers of dance. Academic sessions in the morning threw light on technicalities of the classical dance form.
The 37th edition of three-day (Friday, Saturday and Sunday) dance festival, held for the first time in the city, got off to a traditional start with the main focus on Ashtadikpalakas (Indra, Agni, Yama, Niruthi, Varuna, Vayu, Kubera and Eeshana), the presiding (guardian) deities of the eight directions.
Vibrant painting
Director of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavana and artist H N Suresh had created a vibrant and nuanced painting of Ashtadikpalakas. The exhibition and the festival were inaugurated by Jnanapitha laureate Dr Chandrasekhara Kambar in the presence of scholar Dr Shatavadhani Ganesh. Veteran flautist and prolific composer Dwaraki Krishnamurthy was felicitated on the occasion for her contribution to the field of music and dance.
Dr Ganesh spoke of the traits and significance of each of the Ashtadikpalakas. Though the deities are discussed in detail in letters and words and to an extent, in dance, he praised the attempts at holistically presenting them through the audio-visual media. The morning sessions of the Nithya Nrithya festival saw enthusiastic dancers addressing the subject.
Artistic choreography
On the first day, noted Kuchipudi danseuse Vyjayanthi Kashi presented her disciples Shruthi, Maalakshmi, Gururaju, Sapthami and Ishwarya portraying Lord Indra in a rendition of the Nata Krithi Sri Vasavena sadaa by T S Vasantha Madhavi. The artistes danced in perfect synchrony. Each word of the composition was aptly presented. Allowing for a brief and beautiful nritta amid the exposition served the purpose. Rich recorded music, admirable expressions, colourful costumes and well-coordinated movements enriched the group performance.
Admirable adaptation
Seasoned dancer Bharathi Vitthal portrayed Lord Agni. Fire as an energiser, His omnipresence and His worship formed the theme of her dance with her well-trained disciples. Various shlokas and manthras drawn from different sources were interpreted to visualise the subject through the medium of Kathak, admirably embellished with the characteristic chakkars, tattkaras and glides.
Impressive teamwork The evening performance commenced with an impressive Bharatanatya solo by Suma Krishnamurthy, one of the senior-most disciples of Dr Lalitha Srinivasan at KEA Prabhath Rangamandira, Basaveshwarnagar. Suma is also a Karnatak musician, and her family were part of the musical ensemble on stage.
While daughter Lavanya Krishnamurthy sang, Suma’s husband T S Krishnamurthy excelled himself on the violin.
Suma’s Guru Dr Lalitha Srinivasan’s nattuvanga was inspiring. Mridanga artiste Gurumurthy was in his element. Karthik Satavalli (flute) and Karthik Vaidhatri were the other accompanists. Phani Rangaraju also lent his voice.
Suma Krishnamurthy gave the fifth and last Pancharathna krithi of Thyagaraja Endaro Mahanubhavula in Sri raga. The presentation was scintillating. The Pancharatna krithi was supported by matching rhythm patterns with sahitya porruttams. The arudis were composed for sahitya, making them sound like musical rhythms.
The Pancharathna krithi was sung in the usual pattern of swaras followed by sahitya. Interestingly, the swaras (notation) of the krithi were rendered by the instrumentalists of the musical ensemble while delineation was in the form of a grand varna. The swara segments lent themselves to nritta, encapsulating almost all subtleties in the Bharatanatya vocabulary. There were adavus, jathis, teermanas and limb and neck movements. Suma’s negotiation of all these elements was profound and purposeful. Her eyes, following hand movements, spoke volumes. Some interesting teermanas not only crowned the nritta but also provided a fine finale.
Lavanya sang with a lyrical intensity and lucidity, to apt timing. These made the Suma’s abhinaya lovable. Suma pada and arthaabhinayas established an intimate rapport with the rasikas. The satwikaabhinaya was comprehensive. But I was somewhat intrigued to see the insertion of two shlokas of Bhagavadgitha at the end of the krithi.
After this weighty exposition, she rendered a javali in Behag. The khanditha nayaki, also the vasasajjika and virahothkhanthita, drew accolades from the audience.
Here again, her vast experience and expertise clicked to create wonders.
— Dr M Surya Prasad
drmsuryaprasad@gmail.com