Rotary Club of Coimbatore Metropolis and Department of HR&CE, Government of Tamil Nadu, presented Natyanjali at Patteeswarar Temple, Perur, featuring a few popular dance forms of India, prominently Bharatanatyam.
Students of Nardhanam School of Dance, Coimbatore (Guru-Tara Ramesh), depicted the life of Nandanar, who yearned to have a darshan of Lord Siva at Chidambaram. Each day, he used to say, ‘Naalai Povaen’ (I will go to Chidambaram tomorrow) and hence came to be known as Thirunaalaippovaar. The elaborate introduction bore witness to their research on this saint. The recorded orchestra included appropriate songs from Gopalakrishna Bharati’s ‘Nandanar Charithram’ (‘Sivaloka Naathanaikkandu’, ‘Vazhi Maraithirukkudhe’, ‘ Satrae Vilagi Irum Pillaay’, ‘Varugalaamo Ayyaa’, ‘Darisanam Seidhaarae’). However, these songs did not blend very well as they had been extracted from various albums, sung by various artists. The students did a good job, though - especially the dancer who donned the role of Nandanar.
Acclaimed exponent of Mohiniyattom, Pallavi Krishnan, an alumnus of Santiniketan as well as Kalamandalam, presented an exquisite sample of the graceful art form from Kerala.
‘Siva Panchaksharam’–‘Nagaendra Haaraaya’ was the first item, and Pallavi exploited its potential for picturesque presentation. ‘Maayaa Mohana Krishna’ depicted the episodes of Draupadi Vastraapaharanam, Gajendra Moksham and the preaching of the Bhagavat Gita. It is to her credit that Pallavi enacted the usual scenes with an unusual touch and avoided ennui. Draupadi’s wretched plight in the court of the Kauravas and her ecstatic relief when Krishna came to her rescue were presented authentically.
The highlight of the recital, however, was her ‘Panchabhuta.’ It was a group presentation with excerpts from Soundarya Lahari and Taitriya Upanishad. The introduction clearly explained how creation began by the union of Siva and Shakti as described in Soundarya Lahari, ‘Siva Shaktyaa Yuktho..’. The lines from Taitriya Upanishad traced the origin of the five elements from one to the other. Deeply mystic ideas were portrayed in an understandable and enjoyable manner with the help of a wonderful orchestra (recorded) and aesthetic choreography.
Mridula Rai of Shree Natyanikethan, Coimbatore, presented the nine emotions through ‘Siva Navarasa’. The lovely composition, ‘Jagan Mohana Nadana Raaja Sabhapathiyae,’ gave ample scope for portraying the rasas. Mridula Rai and her disciples impressed with their well-coordinated performance.
Revathi Anand Kumar ’s disciples from Nritya Kshetra, Coimbatore, offered natana puja to Nataraja and presented ‘Devi Neeyae Thunai’ and ‘Azhagu Deyvamaaga Vandhu’.
Through their ‘Pradakshinam’, disciples of Padma S. Raghavan (‘Silambam’ - Chennai) took the spectators through all the sannidhis of a Siva temple. They began with ‘Mudaakaraatha Modhakam’ invoking Lord Ganesha followed by Muruga’s Sura Samharam with ‘Villinai Otha Puruvam Valaithanai.’ Siva and Parvati were worshipped with Nandi Sol, Mahadeva Kauthuvam and Siva Parvati Natanam. Tasteful choreography and beautiful postures made this presentation enjoyable. The varnam in Nattakkurinji, ‘Swaami Naan Undhan Adimai’ was presented well with interesting jatis and appropriate sancharis. ‘Durgae Durgae, Jaya Jaya’ in Revathi was a visual delight. ‘Vaeyuru Tholi Pangan’ by Gnana Sambandar took care of the worship of the Navagrahams. Chithrambari Krishna Kumar led the supportive orchestra with Dhananjayan on the mridangam and Sivaramakrishnan on the violin. Padma Raghavan weilded the cymbals.
An old world charm marked the thematic presentation on Siva by Chitra Chandrasekhar Dasarathy (Ameya, Bangalore), daughter and disciple of C.V. Chandrasekhar. The costume, the hairstyle, the typical waistband (odyanam) of the olden days and the three-pronged kunjalam were reminiscent of the yesteryears. The dancers paid respect to the stage (‘rangadevatha’) with a sloka from Abhinaya Darpana. Again, a very old varnam, ‘Roopamu Joochi’ in Thodi on Lord Siva of Thiruvarur, was presented as per the original choreography. It was a rare opportunity to watch a varnam of that vintage. The varnam expressed the intense longing of the nayika and her sorrow at being ignored by her lord. Juhi Ramakrishna and Rajeswari Aravind performed this with crisp footwork and admirable abhinaya. Chitra Chandrasekhar Dasarathy, Pavithra Jayaraman, Rajalakshmi Suresh and Rupa Guha added to the flavour with their performance.
Students of Sri Abirami Natyalaya, Coimbatore (Guru - Parimalam Venkatraman), and Kala Sadanalaya, Chennai, (Guru - Revathi Ramachandran) presented Bharathanatyam recitals. Sowmya and Somasekar (Niranthara School of Dance, Bangalore) presented a good sample of kathak.
