Impressive abhinaya skills
‘Arangetram’ or the solo debut performance of a dancer is a happy get-together for the dance institution, family and audience. It draws good crowd and these days has an inviting meal attached to it as well. But it is rare to witness a performance that is at par with any professional dancer, being a debut performance. The Arangetram of Varshini G S, a disciple of Dr Lakshmi Ramaswamy held recently at VaniMahal was one such example where the dancer’s skill was groomed to professional standards and honed with impressive abhinaya. The stage arrangements were done meticulously by ‘Cool Events’ Kumar.
Dr Lakshmi Ramaswamy has been a torch bearer when it comes to carving exclusive thematic ideas for her student’s Arangetrams. For Varshini she came up with ‘MaalumMaruganum’ meaning Vishnu and Muruga. The concept of a thematic morning made the audience more curious to sit back and witness what followed one after the other.
Beginning with an Anjali in RagamRatipatipriya, a musical composition of Dr VanatyRaghuraman and choreographed by Dr Lakshmi Ramaswamy, Varshini continued with a few verses from the NarayanaSuktam and followed it with a traditional TisramAlaripppu, choreographed by PadmasriChithraVisweswaran. Fast paced and rhythmic, it gave a good start to the recital.Varshini continued with a Jathiswaram in Chakravaha and Sabdam in praise of Lord Muruga. Next was the central piece, the Varnam in Thodi and AdiTala, that brought the story episodes of the Ramayana and the greatness of the ‘rama-nama’ composed by late Sri Sitarama Sharma.
The second half began with a KavadiChindu on the marriage of Valli and Muruga. Her teacher aptly included segments of comedy in the choreography such that it became an enterprising entertainment for the rasikas. The portrayal of Muruga in disguise of an old man who faints in hunger and thirst and then proposes Valli for marriage, threatening her to call the elephant if she didn’t agree and finally standing as the tree while she embraces to escape from the Elephant God was a powerful dramatic endeavour that showcased a smooth grip of Varshini’sabhinaya nuances and involving herself into the choreography.
The audience were left spell bound watching the young girl in the Ashtapadi, ‘Vahati Malaya’ by Jayadeva where she depicted a lamenting Krishna asking the sakhi to convince Radha and switch roles from the sakhi to the angry Radha who finally melts in reminiscence of Krishna’s love and heads on towards him. A musical composition of Dr RajkumarBharathi, this was indeed a treat for the audience. The performance concluded with a dazzling, Tillana, an experimental choreography by her Guru in two contrasting ragas Kalyaniand Vasanthafinally paving way for KalyanaVasatham in an alternating fashion tuned by Dr Vanaty.
The orchestra comprising of VeeraRaghavan in the vocals, Guru Bharadwaj on the mridangam, Anantha Krishnan on the violin and Sasidharan on the flute along with Dr Lakshmi Ramaswamy on the nattuvangam was a perfect team that one could ask for when it came to such a vibrant and innovative sequence of dance pieces.
For the rasikas it was like a palatable dish that one wished never ended and for the junior dance students present in the crowd, Varshini was indeed an inspiration and young icon to lookupto! The Chief guests for the day were SmtRojaKannan, Smt Indira Krishnamurthy, Sri Jagabandhu Jena and Sri Atlee. Parents of Varshini, Mr Suresh and Gayathri rendered the vote of thanks.
Sri Mudhraalaya, the dance institution of Dr Lakshmi Ramaswamy runs at Kottur. Contact: 9042904924 or lakshmirramaswamy@yahoo.com
