HYDERABAD: Offering rasikas a full-fledged experience of classical dance, renowned dancers Vyshnavie Sainath, Koka Vijayalakshmi, Debashree Patnaik, Mythili Maratt Anoop, Upanisha Kannan, and Shabin Bright, representing various classical dance styles, participated in the South Indian Cultural Association’s annual dance festival. The three-day event at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan featured different themes revolving around mythological stories.
Upanisha Kannan and Shabin Bright, disciples of Dr S Divyasena of Chennai, began the festival with a popular pushpanjali by Dr Balamuralikrishna, followed by a kriti in praise of goddess Kamakshi. The central composition was a Varnam in praise of Lord Nataraja of Chidambaram. They concluded with a thillana, a composition of Maharaja Swati Thirunal. All four compositions were beautifully visualised for dance by their guru, Dr Divyasena.
After the duo’s performance, Koka Vijayalakshmi presented Annamayya Pada Manjeeranadam, a Kuchipudi dance recital with her team. This choreographic marvel commenced with Mahaganapatim Manasasmarami, honouring Lord Vinayaka, and culminated in Srinivasa Kalyana Ghattam. Spanning 60 minutes, it featured Annamayya’s kirtans like ‘Vinnapalu Vinavale,’ ‘Shodasa Kalanidhiki,’ ‘Vinaro Bhagyamu Vishnu Katha,’ ‘Indariki Abhayammulichu Cheyi,’ ‘Thiruveedhula Merise Devadevudu,’ ‘Govinda Govindayani Koluvare,’ and ‘Pidikita Talambrala Pendli Kuturu,’ each a representation of his enduring legacy in Telugu culture.
The following day, Vyshnavie Sainath amazed the audience with her performance of ‘Manas Srotaha - Mindful Flow Through Dance’. This unique presentation began with Laya Kavidai—Rhythm Poetry in praise of Lord Ganesha in ragam Hymavathi set to Mishran thalam. She next delved into a Varnam — Navarasas in ragamalika, featuring Natakuranji, Rathipathipriya, Rasikapriya, and Hamsadwani, written by Kavi Kannan, music by Dr Rajkumar Bharathi, and rhythm by Guru Karaikudi Mani. This performance showcased Navarasas through stories from mythology: Sringaram (love) - Krishna and Radha, Adbhuta (wonder) - Sita Swayamvaram, Roudra (anger) - Narasimha avatar, Hasya (humour) - Gundodaran gulping food, Veera (heroism) —Arjuna hitting the eye of the rotating fish, Karuna (compassion) — Buddha, Shanta (peace) —Brahma, Bibhatsa (disgust)—Athan, and Bhaya (fear) —Ananga. Her team, Geetha and Sangeeta, performed an abhinaya piece on Krishna. She concluded with a Thillana in ragam Surya and thalam Misra Chapu, followed by a musical Thani Avarthanam piece composed by Guru Karaikudi Mani.
The final day’s performances featured Mohiniyattam and Odissi. Mythili Maratt Anoop’s ‘Navarasam’ explored the emotions in art— the nine rasas - with compositions by Kesava Panikker, Navarasaanjali in Raaga Malika, and Aadi Taala. The original choreography was by Guru Kalamandalam Radhika. This was followed by a stanza from Adi Shankaracharya’s ‘Soundarya Lahari’, describing the seven emotions of Parvati: love for Shiva, abhorrence for others, anger and envy at Ganga on Shiva’s head, wonder at Shiva’s exploits, fear of the snakes on Shiva’s body, compassion towards the viewer, and smiles with her sakhis. The composition was in raaga malika, with music by Sai Raghav, vocals by Urjita Umakanth Patel, and percussion by Dr Sreekanth.
The event concluded with Debashree Patnaik and her team’s performance. Their first rendition was ‘Surpanakha’, the demon princess choreographed by Guru Bichitrananda Swain. The sister of King Ravana, smitten by Rama’s beauty, poise, and charm, disguises herself to woo him. Debashree Patnaik presented this piece with charm.
Next was ‘Suryastakam’ performed by Arpita Pany and Soumya Dash. This composition is an eight-verse octet in praise of Surya, the Sun God. The recital concluded with ‘Moksha’, representing spiritual liberation. The dance movements and poses merged to create new patterns and designs in space and time, culminating in a thrilling crescendo. The cosmic sound of ‘OM’ dissolved the dance into nothingness, symbolising the soul’s deliverance. The choreography was by Padmavibhushan Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra, with dancers Debashree Patnaik, Arpita Pany, and Soumya Dash.