Reaching out through art

Swami Shantanand Saraswathi, who envisioned art as a way to uplift mankind to lead a healthier and enriched life, initiated an annual festival of music named after his spiritual guru Swami Sivananda Saraswathi.

The first Sivananda Festival of Music hosted by The Temple of Fine Arts International, Sivashantha Trust and Annalakshmi restaurant, held at The Music Academy recently was a multi-cultural event to coincide with the 84th birthday celebrations of Guru Shantanand Saraswathi.

The celebration opened with a sitar recital of Ustad Usman Khan, honorary dean of Temple Of Fine Arts International.

The Ustad, who combines the two traditional approaches in Indian instrumental music — gayaki ang and tantrakari ang chose to play Raag Keervani.

He explored the varied dimensions of the raga in vilambit and dhrut, making the music a meditative experience for the listeners. The concert succeeded in inspiring people to stay focused on the arts experience, which is the motto of TFA’s arts outreach programmes. Vickneswaran Ramakrishnan aka Vick Riyazi, who played the tabla, enhanced the meditative mood with his unobtrusive playing.

O.S. Arun gave a glimpse of the facets of Carnatic music in his short concert. A lively opening song, ‘Karunai seivai Gajaraja’ in Hamsadhwani, preceded the majestic rendering of ‘Ranganathude’ in raga Saurashtram. Arun explored raga Khamas, after a short alapana, in his characteristic style. A fast-paced rendering of the Tyagaraja kriti ‘Seetha Pathe Na Manasuna’ with a brief niraval and kalpanaswara concluded with a short and lively thani avartanam by Sherthalai R Ananthakrishnan on the mridangam and S. Karthick on the ghatam. The famous Desh song ‘Thunbam Nergaiyil’ from the movie ‘Or Iravu’ was the concluding piece. Deviations do not always work. It would have been better if Arun had stuck to the original tune with his manodharma touches. M.R. Gopinath provided melodic support with his violin.

Imagine a world where conversations happen through dance. Where thoughts and emotions are conveyed not by words but through sound and movement. A body moving through multiple dance styles as a language to communicate. What would be the outcome? This was the premise of ‘Inner space dance conversations’ .

It was a collage, highlighting the core elements of Odissi, Kathak and Bharatanatyam. The presentation by a small group of dancers was a fitting finale to the show. The dancers adapted themselves to different styles, moving from the graceful tribhanga of Odissi to the footwork of Kathak and the adavus of Bharatanatyam. Curated by Umesh Shetty, the production comprised mangalacharan and pallavi in Odissi style, ‘Char Taal Ki Savari’, a traditional Kathak composition, ‘Sum,’ a contemporary Kathak piece and Siva-Love-Paradox-Ananda in the Bharatnatyam style. The creativity of the choreographers came across in the captivating group formations; the dancers executed the movements with dexterity and finesse. Ravinder Shetty’s brilliant lighting design rendered a sculptural dimension to the dancing forms, all of which offered the audience a rich visual experience.