And there was Kaushiki too! - Kaushiki Chakraborty

 Jharna …..a fountain of beauty

  

It was two weekends of wonderful display of dance, music and tholbomalatam at the Dhananjayan’s own school Bharatakalanjali. It was an idea born out of this school’s Alumini and now a Creative & Executive Director of Bharatakalanjali, a senior Bharatanatyam artiste of her own merit ….Shobana Bhalachandra’s passion ! 

The whole idea of having twelve performances of about one hour each stretching over two weekends, including Fridays, was to give an opportunity to young talented artistes to show their creativity and competence. In order to truly encourage them, they were all remunerated.  

The festival started on the 11th of February for a niche live audience, and it was also streamed online. Srinivasan, one of Bharatakalanjali’s students gave the first performance in a traditional manner. His performance was good and had no mistakes, but he certainly has a long way to go.

The next person to perform on Shreema Upadhyaya from Bangalore. One of the nice things about Jharna was that we could see talent from other parts of the country. Everytime , I read or hear the Mahabharata, I wonder who complemented whom, Was it Drona who was known to be a teacher par excellence to have produced a student like Arjuna or was it Arjuna who made Drona famous by being such a talented & extraordinary archer. I guess, both needed each other. What can satisfy a teacher more than watching one of his students, perform wonderfully and bringing laurels to the teacher.

I am sure Shreema’s guru Sri. P. Praveen Kumar was a proud man on that evening at Jharna. Sometimes, wonderful things come in small packages… and that is the case with Shreema. Small & petite yet a tower of talent. Her first piece was Krishnanjali, where Krishna is the irresistible bundle of innocence, mischief, compassion, and wisdom. His entire avataram has been fascinating for all, be it an artist or an artiste or an ordinary man. To bring out his various facets and roles such as the dearest lover of the Gopis, as the protector of the distressed when he is Govardhana Giridhari and so on. When Arjuna faces a dilemma at the battlefield of Kurukshetra war, having to choose between giving up his fight for righteousness and slaying his own brothers and friends, it is then that Krishna gives the greatest treasure to mankind……. The Bhagavad Gita !
Shreema presented an excerpt from the Sri Krishna Kamalanatho Varnam, composed with verses from the Sri Krishna Shatanamavali Stotram, set to Raga Reethigowla and Adi Tala. She showed agility and a range of expressions that one couldn’t but admire.

 Her next piece was a Javali, in which her expressions of a Khandita Nayika of anger and disdain towards her lover, whose actions have cheated her, and she doesn’t believe or accept his remorse. This piece in Kannada ‘Saako Ninna Sneha’ is in Raga Kapi and Mishra Chapu Tala, and composed by Venkatagiri Shastri. I particularly loved this piece, (where knowing the language helped) where Shreema was at her best…… in her one could find everything a lover could be… angry, hurt, disappointed, yet the Nayika is unable to stop loving her man.

Shreema‘s last piece was very philosophical where the central idea is that one should treat the human body as a temple. She chose to elaborate this through a Jathiswaram in Raga Todi, Adi Tala, composed by Swathi Thirunal, followed by a Vachana ‘Ullavaru Shivalaya Maduvaru’ a composition of Basavanna. Lingayats who are followers of Basavanna, are expected to consider the human form sacred and their scriptures describe its sanctity and godliness. Just as a shrine houses the deity, so does the body act as a vessel for our soul. Rarely, do we see dancers performing to Basavanna’s Vachana. The Jharna had begun to flow and beautifully so.

It was with a lot of expectation that I went the next day, after a lovely experience the previous evening.
The first artiste of the day was Divya Nayar, a student of both Kalakshetra & Sheejith Krishna and who is currently a teacher at Isha Sanskriti at Coimbatore.
What struck me at the outset, was Divya’s creative costume and her striking stage presence. And I think it was very intelligent on her part to have designed a simple and yet elegant costume, keeping in mind the intimate space and audience she was performing to. There was less jewellery and the colours were pleasing to the eye, not overpowering but impactful. Her performance was highly impressive, and she had chosen a single piece to perform. ……….Agame Vrindavanam- the last few verses from ‘Nachiyar thirumozhi’.

In Vaishnavism, the most popular and loved Alwar is Andal and her most famed work ‘Thirupavai’. A poetess who has no parallel to her and her Nachiyar Thirumozhi is a lesser-known work. This is a collection of not just exquisite but erotic verses, where Andal’s quest culminates with a surefooted gait into the inner world of her heart.

The richness of Andal’s poetry and the lyrical beauty was matched with Divya Nayar’s wonderful emotive dancing. The grace and ease she showed in depicting Andal’s complete and obsessive love and fanatic devotion, was an all-consuming thing. It is not a simple but a multidimensional experience she had, enjoying the Lord as a child, a lover, a friend, and a saviour. Mayane! you elude me as I look for you but pervade the world within my closed eyes!  I must say Divya mesmerised me with her performance.

After a small break, we had Devika Venkatasubramanian from Mumbai, who started her performance with a Varnam in Ragam Kharaharapriya and Adi talam, composed by Shri K.N Dandayudhapani Pillai. This Varnam (Mohamaginen) was the Nayika's narration to her Sakhi about her longing for lord Shiva. Devika with her expressed this longing with her eyes and every movement while exhibiting her excellent footwork & talent. Devika herself had choreographed the second piece which spoke about Lakshmana’s wife Urmila's agony. How little is spoken about sacrifices of Urmila in the Ramayana. After all, Urmila didn’t expect her marriage will end up like this. No one consulted her especially her husband, before he took the decision to accompany Rama to the forest. She surely didn’t bargain for this situation, as an outcome of Kaikeyi & Dashratha’s negotiations. Why should her life turn topsy turvy? Yet Urmila’s commitment was to stay in Ayodhya and not go back to Mithila until Lakshmana returned and while Sita was stubborn about not separating from her husband, Urmila was forced to separate for no fault of hers. History has not given her the place she deserves.  Imagine today any wife accepting such a situation and continuing to live with her in laws! Or even imagine any husband daring to do anything like even inviting someone home for dinner without consulting his wife.

The lyrics which were very beautifully composed in Tamizh by Prof. Dr. S. Raghuraman, talks about Urmila's birth, life, adroitness, and some lesser-known facts about her. Devika had chosen to choreograph this piece in the format of a padam interspersed with some spoken dialogues in the presentation.

On Day 3, the program started with a creative piece by Bharatakalanjali‘s own senior faculty Anita Unnikrishnan with Uttiya Barau. If anyone has the question why Bharatakalanjali is on top of the pedestal for Bharatanatya, it is because of the Dhananjayans. It is also because they have an amazing team who can keep the flag high up there. Anita, not just talented dancer herself, but a stage actress, who has been mentored by none other Shobana Bhalchandra. She was light on her feet and with Uttiya another Bharatakalanjali student, gave us such a memorable and surreal performance. Remember the magic the Dhananjayans as a couple have created on stage (and off stage). As teachers they seem to have not just transferred knowledge but also some of their magic.

 The inevitable choice was ‘Krishna’ who is an embodiment love, tenderness and compassion. Krishna who is the most loved prankster, and a lover who every woman wants in her man also he is the child every mother sees in her own child. He is acknowledged as God and yet he is celebrated as a child, lover, protector, a teacher, a strategist, a destroyer of evil and most important he represents limitless joy. The dancers couldn’t have better conveyed that Maya is an experience to love and to be loved. When Maya is an illusion, how can anyone depict Maya through dance?  But Uttiya and Anita could show all this in their performance which had an impact on me for days after.

 After watching such an enthralling performance by Uttiya Barua and Anita, we had a virtual Carnatic music concert by Kaustubh Chandramouli. Now, this was a dampener, because last thing anyone would looking forward to was a virtual concert, when all we did for the last two years was watch every concert virtually. It was not as if Kaustubh was not a good singer but even Sanjay Subramaniam‘s ‘Virtual’ concert couldn’t have engaged me after a scintillating performance by Anita & Uttiya, in flesh and blood. Why would I come all the way to watch some newbie’s virtual concert? Frankly, I didn’t see any logic in inserting this concert among some wonderful performances. Anyway, I decided to wait for last performance of the evening, which was a Harikatha by Ramya Ramakrishnan. She actually presented a Mudra Harikatha titled "Sarvam Brahmamayam" - The Charithram of Sri Sadasiva Brahmendral. I was hearing and watching a Mudra Harikatha for the first time. Only later did I know that she has been a Bharatnatyam dancer for over a decade, so I guess showing mudras was something which came naturally to her. She is also trained in Carnatic music for several years and currently learning the art of Harikatha from none other than Vishakha Hari.

Ramya's Harikatha for the evening was on the life of the great Sidha Purusha and Carnatic Composer Sadasivendra Brahmendral who lived in the 18th century in South Tamilnadu.
Her discourse was a complete coverage from his childhood, his learning Vedas and Shastras, his Miracles, his musical compositions and finally attaining Samadhi. The feeling one got seeing her was - what big influence a teacher has over a student!
Her narrative style, her more than necessary elaborate singing, even her humour was so like Vishaka’s. It is in a way very nice, that a young person like Ramya, who has a full-time career, is pursuing this vocation out of her own interest. Ofcourse, she still has a long way to go, before we see her blossom into a Vishaka minus the madisaar saree!!

About the Author:

Sandhya Shankar belongs to a well respected business family in Chennai. She is a Life Skills & Corporate Trainer by profession. She is an avid reader and a natural writer, who has written several poems and articles. She even presented her poems as a reading at the British council. She has keen interest in all art forms  and has explored many different forms of painting like stained glass and Tanjore being among them. 

Music being her first passion, she had her formal training under Terakotti Chandrasekharaiah at Bangalore and later briefly under Mrs Champa Kumar. She is a regular visitor of concerts, theatre and other live performances. Her witty reviews have gained a loyal and interactive readership for their sound technical commentary and relevance for every kind of melophile, from the casual-goer to the ragam expert, frequenting Chennai’s rich music scene.

(*The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the author and not necessarily those of Music of Madras.)