The confidence and poise seen in young dancer Pranathi Ramadorai is an outcome of the training she has undergone in the technique and grammar of the art form. Groomed under the expert guidance of her guru Rhadha, Pranathi’s performance validated the faith and training of her teacher.
Pranathi began her performance for Sri Parthasarathy Swami Sabha with a Kavuthuvam in ragam Sankarabharanam, a composition of Gangamuthu nattuvanar in praise of Lord Chokalingeshwara. The dancer used simple gestures to describe Lord Siva — the crescent moon and Ganga on his head, sacred ash and snakes coiled on his body — to present a picturesque image of the lord.
The heroine, sharing with her sakhi, the pangs of separation that torments her, formed the theme in the shabdam ‘Venuganaloluni,’ a composition of guru Ramiah Pillai. The same theme continued in the main composition of the evening, the varnam ‘Nadanai Azhaithuvaadi’ by guru Kalyanasundaram in raga Khambodi.
Beginning with a statuesque pose of Muruga, the hero of this varnam, the dancer brought out some of the familiar images associated with the Lord like the gait of the peacock, the vel (spear) and His flag, in a beautiful manner. The angst of the heroine when she asks her friend whether the Lord can bear the separation was communicated with clarity. The sancharis that showed the heroine’s impatience prompting her sakhi to move fast was impressive, but the highpoint of her abhinaya skills came through while depicting the episodes where Lord Muruga is shown as Aarumuga.
Pranathi beautifully visualised it by detailing each face individually, describing the eyes in one face, the curly locks of hair in another, the sharp nose in the third and so on to make it a poetic representation. The nritta segments were short and crisp and the dancer sailed through it with agility and firm footwork revealing her competence.
The dignity and stature of the hero of the composition was well-captured, with the dancer’s stance and sthayi bhava maintaining the personality of the nayaka throughout the song, a javali ‘Smarasundaranguni’ of Dharmapuri Subbarayar in Paras raga.
A brisk thillana by Lalgudi Jayaraman in Maund was a fitting finale. With more involvement Pranathi made a mark as a dancer while presenting this piece.
Guru Rhadha wielded the cymbals, effectively guiding her disciple. Nandini Anand’s voice played a truant that evening but there were certain moments when her singing communicated the emotions with beauty. Vijayaraghavan on the violin and Atul Kumar on the flute embellished the recital with their effective playing. Dhananjayan gave dynamic support on the rhythm with his mridangam.