HYDERABAD : Recall the era when we used to watch “Little Krishna” on television? Avani Reddy, who portrayed Krishna at an event titled “Krishna’s Ensemble,” once again transported the audience to those nostalgic times; it almost felt like watching “Little Krishna” on TV with a broader screen. The event “Krishna’s Ensemble” is a Kuchipudi and Carnatic ballet curated by Ranjani Sivakumar and Abha Naktode, and beautifully presented by Avani Reddy.
The curtain rises with the scene where Kamsa was informed that the child of Devaki and Vasudeva poses a threat to his life, accompanied by the background music “Kamsa Daruvu” (entrance of Kamsa). Subsequently, the narrative shifts to Vasudev transporting Little Krishna to Gokul. Krishna’s childhood was portrayed through the dance ballet, “Swagatam Krishna,” in the Ragam Mohanam, with graceful jathis intertwined within. Meanwhile, Yashoda, his mother, realises that Krishna is not merely a child but Vishnu himself.
Explaining the effort behind the performance, Abha Naktode said, “Because there was no script, it was very challenging for me to bring together all the items. And as a non-Telugu speaker, writing dialogues was especially challenging. Varun helped me a lot. Avani started learning in November. She used to travel 40 km daily to learn this. I am thankful to Ranjani garu and Bala garu for providing us this opportunity because it’s not easy to produce a ballet, especially a dance ballet. And they have a nice vision to take this to OTT. That’s a really great thing that they have thought.”
Furthermore, the narrative delves into Krishna’s leela where he dances atop the evil snake Kaalinga in the central piece “Kalinga Nartana Tillana.” Finally, the story ends in a confrontation between Krishna and his uncle Kamsa. Abha Naktode, the choreographer, cleverly mixed elements of drama and theater to give this show a dance-drama feel. The compositions selected by Ranjani Sivakumar were popular tukkadas (closing pieces in a concert) from the Carnatic Music idiom. Alongside the Kuchipudi performance and Carnatic music, the dialogues penned by Varun Sharma Thogarchedu and the voice-over by Ravuri Akhil added to the enchanting performance.
Avani Reddy captivated the audience with her performance for almost two hours. “I love this programme; it is about Krishna’s life. Krishna is my favourite god, and I loved representing him. I also thank Ranjani aunty; without her voice, this would have been nothing. And Abha ma’am’s choreography was amazing. I love dancing and fighting with Kamsa. I’ve been practicing for it for over two months. It was hard, but I enjoyed it,” expressed Avani Reddy.
Alongside Avani Reddy, other dancers and characters including Kamsa played by Varun Sharma Thogarchedu, Yashoda by Aditi Nag, Vasudeva by Gautham Raj Peesapati, Devaki by Heerekar Apurva, Balaram and Gopabaludu by Vemula Hanshika, and many more enhanced the show.
The melodious orchestra, led by Ranjani Sivakumar on vocals and Kalyan Vasant on male vocals, was exceptional. Abha Naktode’s performance on Nattuvangam was brilliant for all pieces with apt responses from mridangam artist Ramakrishna. Rajasekhar on violin and Laxmi Narasimha Reddy on flute rendered appropriate ragas, setting the tone and mood for each scene.
Ranjani Sivakumar, Carnatic vocalist, said, “This is a ballet about Krishna. So, Krishna is a favourite character for so many people. The protagonist Krishna always captures our heart because he is naughty, and his childhood leelas, or his childhood pranks, make us closer to him. Krishna is beautifully played by Avani. Avani is barely 10 years old, but she is extremely brilliant. Avani is able to shine so much because of the beautiful support of Bala Reddy garu and his wife Rajini.”