Natyarangam’s Uthsava Bharatham festival began with dancers presenting the Arupathumoovar and Srirangam processions
Natyarangam’s Uthsava Bharatham festival began with dancers presenting the Arupathumoovar and Srirangam processions
Silver jubilee year is a remarkable milestone for any institution. It’s a long journey that encompasses new beginnings, opportunities and challenges making every moment memorable. The landmark event was marked by a special line up as Natyarangam, the dance wing of Narada Gana Sabha, completed 25 years. A 10-day thematic dance series, ‘Uthsava Bharatham’, featuring group and solo performances by senior and young dancers, concluded on August 23.
The curtains went up with senior dancer Jayanthi Subramaniam’s group production themed on the Arupathumoovar procession, a part of the Panguni utsavam festival, one of the most celebrated events that takes place at the Kapaliswarar temple, Mylapore.
Visual appeal
Jayanthi Subramaniam and G. Narendra presenting ‘Kapali Arupathumoovar’ at Natyarangam’s ‘Uthsava Bharatham’ festival, Narada Gana Sabha.
| Photo Credit: PICHUMANI K
Conceptualised to highlight the significant rituals associated with this festival, the presentation began with a prayer to the grama devata (guardian deity) Kolavizhi Amman. The Ganesha procession and the flag hoisting ceremony (Kodiyetram) that followed next, were visually appealing.
“One needs countless eyes to behold the grandeur of the procession of Adhikara Nandi,” says vaggeyakara, Papanasam Sivan in his classic composition, ‘Kaana kann kodi vendum’ in raga Kambhoji. It was presented in a detailed manner. As a group of dancers entered the stage from the sidewings drawing the ropes of the ther, the majesty of the chariot and its journey around the mada veedhis came alive through the dancers expressions, body language and movements.
Interesting stories
The story of Shiva cursing Parvati, who got distracted by a peacock (the gait beautifully enacted by Srutipriya), the sthala puranam of Mylapore, the Poompavai episode, the composing of Poompavai Padigam (verses of historical significance detailing the temple festivals), the procession of the 63 Nayanmars, the enactment of the loss of ring and Shiva appearing as Bhikshadanar, culminating in kalyanotsavam were seamlessly woven into the narrative.
‘Kapali Arupathumoovar, the thematic dance performance by Jayanthi Subramaniam and team, at Natyarangam’s Uthsava Bharatham festival, Narada Gana Sabha.
| Photo Credit: PICHUMANI K
In the small segment where Jayanthi Subramaniam and G. Narendra depicted the beauty of the lord, their maturity and experience came through in their well-nuanced abhinaya. The duo brought out every detail with finesse.
The performance reiterated that Bharatanatyam encompasses allied arts and all elements of artistic expressions that are required to communicate creative ideas in a holistic way. Aesthetic costumes, neat and well-coordinated movements, and appropriate choreography, without extraneous elements like video projections or props, made Jayanthi’s presentation appealing.
Nityakalyani Vaidhyanathan handled the cymbals. Rithi Murari provided the vocals with Samanvita G. Sasidharan lending vocal support. The orchestra also had Guru Bharadwaj on the mridangam, Vishwesh Swaminathan on the violin, and Sruti Sagar on the flute. Rajkumar Bharathi scored the music for the production.
The team of dancers also included Bilwa Raman, Ashwini Viswanathan, Season U.K, Shruthipriya R. Vignesh, Athul Balu and Maanasa.S.
Art and architecture
Aranga Thiru Ula by Manjari and group at Natyarangam’s Uthsava Bharatham festival, 2022.
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
The celebrations shifted to the banks of the Cauvery and the majestic temple of Srirangam on the second day of the festival. Chithra Madhavan’s narration about the distinct features of the art, architecture, and the details of the utsavam, acted as a precursor to the presentation, ‘Aranga Thiru Ula’, choreographed by Manjari Rajendrakumar.
The majesty of raga Thodi aptly depicted the grand architecture of the temple. A group of dancers moving horizontally across the stage leading to circumbulation looked a bit abstract initially. But when performed multiple times it became clear that it was an attempt to show the spatial structure of the numerous prakarams. Graceful movements and melodious notes of raga Vasantha flowed seamlessly like river Cauvery.
The Saranga raga kriti, ‘Karuna joodavaiya’ that talks of a devotee’s plea to Ranganatha to shower his blessings was an evocative presentation. Dancers beautifully described the lord’s form, but the screen (thiraseelai) dropping down in the midst of the sequence was disturbing.
The use of Mallari for procession, swara patterns for the Amrit Manthan segment, and the depiction of Araiyar Sevai were some of the special moments. Instead of a thillana, usually presented in the end, the use of ritualistic upacharas to the silver padukas of the lord and his consort went well with the theme.
Manjari, Anusha Natarajan, Pavani Prakash, Vidyalakshmi and Srinivas executed the varied ideas in the choreographic patterns with conviction. But they could have brought in more emotion and expression into the movements. The colours of the costumes and draping style didn’t appear very aesthetic.
Kudos to Jyotishmathi Sheejith, the vocalist, who has also scored the music for some of the compositions. Viraj Rajendrakumar provided vocal support. Nattuvangam by Saikripa Prasanna, mridangam by Rakesh Pazhaedam, and violin by Rijesh Gopalkrishnan complemented the musicians with their supportive playing.
The Chennai-based writer reviews classical dance.
.jpeg "First Day First Show | Reviews of ‘Ponniyin Selvan: 2’ and ‘Citadel’")
