July 8, 2013: The picture of grace, zeal and dynamism greeted dance lovers, present at Ravindra Kalakshetra on day two and three of the Nrithyanthara-2013, a three day dance festival hosted by Shivapriya School of Dance. The festival was led by seasoned dancer-Guru Dr Sanjay Shantharam as part of the school's silver jubilee celebrations. The young and highly talented dancers reached the acme of their skills, expertise and artistry during the performance.

The second day’s programme began with a commendable Bharatanatyam duet by K C Rupesh and Sneha Bhagwat. Sneha proved to be a praiseworthy disciple of Guru Sanjay.  The performance began with a Pushpanjali and Ganesha Stuti. The Bagesri tillana accounted for a vibrant conclusion and the dancers danced in unison with a lot of energy. But rasikas were truly disappointed to see shades of Kuchipudi natya and Bharatanrithyam in their Bharatanatyam.

Good understanding

The following Kathak duet by B P Sweekruth and Manasa Joshi was marked by good understanding between the two dancers. The audience was surprised to see the duo opening their recital with a Basaveshwara vachana Swami neenu shashwatha. The Kannada composition on Lord Shiva adapted to the medium of Kathak was endearing due to the competent histrionic abilities of the dancers.

Manasa was at home in sketching the famous Jayadeva Ashtapadi Lalita lavanga. The performance could have been better with better planning and more synchronisation.

The frequent changes in costumes could have been avoided and the use smoke as a prop did not go well with the rendition.

Sweekruth’s delineation of jhap tal (with a cycle of ten beats) was laudable. The tatkars, chakkars and tihais were neatly done. Madhurashtakam was explored well and captured the beauty of Lord Krishna. The duo rounded off their presentation with a tarana set to Bhairavi raga and teen tal.

Wonderful coordination

Visually impaired but admirably talented five male and six female dancers of Articulate Ability—Buse Gowda, Guruprasad, Taraka Ramulu, Satish Rao, Sivaswamy, Suma, Sowmya, Latha Mani, Gulab Shah, Pallavi and Rashmi—amazed the rasikas with their innate talent.

Trained by Mysore B Nagaraj and Suparna Venkatesh, they were able to grasp the subtleties of Bharatanatyam. The opening Poorva Ranga Vidhi, was a ritualistic number wherein the stage space was purified with sprinkling of water and the Gods of the eight directions were propitiated.

Supported by props, the male dancers did a wonderful job with their coordination and aligned movements. Lord Ganesha was saluted and His traits were enacted with some interesting poses.

The female dancers rendered Kundalini Shakti, a yogic concept. The performance was packed with intricate jathis and the dancers struck attractive poses and flowy movements. The male dancers enthralled the audience with their martial arts. The concluding tillana rendered by the female dancers was a fitting finale.

Splendid Sanjay

The last day’s dance recitals began with Aadum daivam in Kalyani raga delineated by the host of the festival Guru Sanjay Shantharam and his 14-female students-Shivapriya Ensemble. The nritta element of Bhartanatyam radiated in the presentation. Sanjay in the role of Lord Shiva excelled. His enactment of Bedara Kannappa, a staunch devotee of Shiva was par excellence. The group's alignment and realignments were eye catching and perfect.

Poised Bharatanatya

Veteran Bhartanatyam dancer Priyadarshini Govind regaled the connoisseurs with her neat and poised presentations. The Shanmukhapriya alarippu with Thirupugazh was a role model for the young aspirants. The ragamalika varna by Tanjavur Quartet Saami ninne kori naanu raa had elegant nritta, nrithya and abhinaya sequences. Her abhinaya in particular was profound.  A khanditha nayika came alive in her exposition of Indendu vachchitivira(Suruti raga). Likewise the abhinaya for Apudu manasu(Khamach) depicting a heroine spilling out her emotions on seeing her hero was of high class. Priyadarshini had a live music ensemble which comprised of Jayashree(nattuvanga), Krithika(vocal), Srilakshmi(violin) and Vedakrishna ram(mridanga).

Unique interpretation

Renowned Murali Mohan and Nandini Mehta presented a Nataraja Stuti highlighting their mastery over Kathak.  The Nadam ensemble with their disciples Smitha Srinivasan, Arpita Banerjee, Samanvita Sharma, Poorna Acharya and Chandana Ramesh stole the show with the rendition of a Ganesha Stuti.  Krishna nee begane baaro was portrayed in a unique manner. Both Murali and Nandini enacted the roles of Krishna’s parents and interacted with child Krishna on the basis of that pada. The manner in which it ended was thrilling. Murali as the father carried child Krishna on his back and Nandini as the mother walked next to them playfully, delighting the little boy.

Book release

Sri Ganapathi Sachchidanda Swamiji of Sri Datta Avadhoota Peetha, Mysore is known for his miraculous powers and musical therapy.

He has been a prolific composer too with innumerable compositions in Kannada, Telugu, Tamil, Hindi, English and other languages. He released his book Raga Ragini Nidhi in English at Sri Karyasiddhi Mantapa, Girinagar on Wednesday.

This is a book worth preserving. The various aspects pertaining to classical music and therapy are explicated in a lucid manner.

His two books My Parrots and Bhajana Sangraha were also released on the occasion.

Source: The New Indian Express, DT. July 8, 2013.