It was not loved at first sight. It took effort to ease into getting comfortable in its presence before Bharatnatyam dancer Aditi Dash could say that the art form has set her on a creative fire she never thought was possible. Just days before her Arangetram (dance debut), the 21-year-old talks to us about what this classical dance form means to her, how she got this far and what she plans to do with this knowledge in the future.
April 25 is going to be a big day for her. Dash finds herself confidant about executing her elaborate dance routine but is aware that she must stay focused despite the surety. “Everybody will be watching including my guru Saroja Vaidyanathan. It’s going to be tested by fire,” she says.
At first, Bharatnatyam didn’t foster an interest. It was difficult to grasp and required an immense amount of physical perseverance. But once she started reading the theory of dance, Dash developed curiosity regarding it.
Subhashini Vasanth was her first guru. Dash was probably also Vasanth’s first student when she started her institute in Bangalore. “She taught me Kalakshetra style that comprises angular, ballet-like movements. When I shifted to Delhi, I learnt the Thanjavur style that was more graceful, fast paced and not as rigid. There was more scope for improvisation. The focus was on abhinaya or the art of expression, which I realised I was good at,” she says.
For her Arangetram, this economics student will be presenting a set of compilations, each displaying an attribute from her classical dance skillset. It begins with pushpanjali, an offering of flowers to Gods. “Mine is going to be a Janakita Pushpanjali to Lord Ganesha, Kartikeya, Saraswati Lakshmi, and Shiva. Alarippu or the first dance piece that Bharatanatyam dancers perform, also open up ones joins and prepares you for the performance ahead,” says Dash.
This will be followed by Jathiswaram, a pure dance movement presentation which doesn’t have any emotions. Next will be one of the most important, longest and complex pieces in Bharatanatyam called Varnam. In this one, Dash describes the various stages of Lord Krishna’s life. Next comes the Padam in which she assumes the role of Goddesses Durga and Parvati in an extremely expressive rendition.
Then there is Mahabharata Shabdam divided into three scenes: Yudhisthira playing the dice game and putting everything close to him — his kingdom, brothers and wife — at risk. In the second one, Duryodhana calls Dushasana to get Draupadi to court to disrobe her, and in the third, how she calls upon Lord Krishna to help her.
The second last piece is Govardhana Giridhara wherein Lord Krishna saves villagers from a thunderstorm by picking Mount Govardhan on his little finger and sheltering them. Finally, Paras Thillana is a fast-moving climax to her dance repertoire.
Dash has prepared her dance well. She has relentlessly followed everything a student should. Now she leaves its success on the Lord she is evoking through her debut performance.
(April 25, at Triveni Kala Sangam, Tansen Marg,6.30 pm onwards. )