| An artiste of great promise - Aparna Ramachandran, Sydney Australia |
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 Sydney audience has not very often witnessed the emergence of budding local talent with huge potential. “Thrayee”, a Bharata Natyam Academy presented one such “arangetram” of Aparna Ramachandran at the Science Theatre, University of NSW recently. “Thrayee” is headed by Smt. Gayatri Krishnamurthy, a dancer, choreographer and teacher, who is also one of the well-known Trio sisters of Chennai whose performances at several international festivals have been critically acclaimed.
Aparna Ramachandran’s arangetram was markedly different as she herself compered the show using an audio-visual which blended nicely with her dance performance. The tempo of the presentation was crisp, concise, shorn of fanfare and long winded introductions. The musical accompaniment for the performance earned Aparna some extra brownie points. Nattuvangam by Gayatri Krishnamurthy, and vocal support by Subha Harinath were as good as they could get, and Balaji Jagannadhan on the violin was excellent. Mridangam support by Sivasankar Santhanakrishnan demonstrated considerable understanding and played on the instrument very ably. The repertoire commenced with a Pushpanjali to the accompaniment of Mallari in raga Gambheera Nattai and an invocation of the deity. This was followed by Alarippu in Tisram which brought out the essence of Nritta by movements of the eyes, the neck, hands and feet and a submission to the Ranga Devata. Aparna gave an impressive demonstration of her talent in the next item – a Jathiswaram in ragamalika set to mishra chapu talam. Her movements synchronised beautifully with the musical notes of the jathis sung so well by Subha Harinath. Balaji Jagannadhan added his own touch of brilliance in the delineation of the ragas in between the items. Aparna’s ample skills in abhinaya were in evidence in her presentation of Shabdam which was patterned on Lord Muruga’s lifespan from his childhood as a toddler to his youth. She was distinguishing in her expression of ‘vatsalya’ and ‘shringara’ – two entirely different rasas requiring completely different body movements and facial expressions. Shabdam was set to mishra chapu talam. Varnam in raga Atana, the next item is usually the crowning glory for all dance recitals and Aparna gave the audience a taste of her versatility. Also known as Nrityopahaaram, the varnam was based on the theme of a devotee’s bhakti to Lord Krishna – Aparna was able to show the yearning for the divine love and affection by blending nrittya with abhinaya and adding rhythm and colour to her Bharatanatyam recital. The second half of the varnam - Chinni Krishna was a mix of expressions - admiration and admonishment for the Lord’s childhood antics and His supreme intervention - by slaying Kamsa, repaying his friendship to Kuchela, saving Draupadi from dishonour and by reminding Arjuna of his sacred duties at Kurukshetra. After a brief intermission, Solla vallayo kiliyae - a ragamalika padam, and composition of Subramanya Bharati was choreographed to elaborate on ‘shringara rasa’ - portraying the message of love sent by the ‘nayaki’ to her Lord Muruga pining for his love. Vaada Vaada Kanna was an item chosen to emote as a mother to her child - using an imaginary conversation between Yashoda and young Lord Krishna demonstrating a mother’s anxiety, not knowing the whereabouts of her child. The opportunity was well utilised to demonstrate her capabilities in reinforcing the “vaatsalya” rasa. Musical accompaniment was in ragas Vasantha and Kaapi and set to Rupaka talam. This was followed by a Padam in Kavadi Sindu format. The rhythm was distinctively folk, and delineated a village maiden’s intensity of love for her Lord Muruga. Thillana in raga Behaag was an appropriate number for the climax as the dance tempo increased and culminated in an expression of joy. This was a pure dance item with intricate footwork whilst creating body postures of great beauty. The evening concluded with a Slokam – Omkara Karini created by Dr. M. Balamuralikrishna. Overall, an evening of wonderful entertainment. The audience reaction was clearly indicative of a home grown artiste with great promise. Courtesy: MALLI IYER, IndianLink |
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