The nuanced abhinaya conveyed it all

A huge responsibility rests on a dancer who comes from an artistic lineage, more so when three family members are part of the orchestra. Nandini Ganesan, granddaughter of Guru Kalasadan Mani and daughter of Sharada Ganesan, executed this responsibility convincingly at the Kalavardhini festival hosted by Fine Arts Society, Chembur, Mumbai, at the RCF auditorium.

The radiance of feminine force that is Shakti was demonstrated in ‘Thiruvaalankaadu Kali Kauthuvam’ (Hamsadhwani, Khanda Chapu) choreographed by Chitra Visweswaran, Nandini’s guru.

Intricate jatis

‘Kuzhalin Isai Ketkude,’ a varnam in Dhanyasi that was composed by Guru Mani with interesting lyrics and intricate jatis, choreographed by Sharada Ganesan was a challenge that the dancer met with confidence. The spiritual role of the sakhi as the catalyst, guiding the nayika (jeevatma) to the supreme spirit (paramatma) was well delineated.

The call of the flute in Hema’s melodious exploration, Nature’s response conveyed through the dancer’s portrayal, varying speeds in jatis, rapport with mridangam and flute, the jalakreedai boat ride, Kalinga Nartanam performed to flute and mridangam were embellishments to a neat presentation.

While announcing ‘Enna thavam’, (Kapi, Adi, Papanasam Sivan), Nandini acknowledged her mother’s training. The mischievous glint in her eyes to show Krishna eating “oh so tasty mud” and Yashoda’s mixed feelings of adhbuta and vatsalya, were appealing.

Avvaiyar’s conversation with Murugan ‘Peridu peridu bhuvanam peridu’ set in Mohanam, establishing the ‘Aham Brahmasmi’ preceded the tillana (Hindolam, Adi), choreographed by Sharada Ganesan and Natrajgopal Mani.

Energy and grace

Energetic footwork to mridangam beats, combined with the morsing, showed the dancer’s grace.

The ensemble comprised Sharada Ganesan on nattuvangam, Shanmugasundaram on vocal, Natarajgopal Mani on the mridangam, N. R. Ganesan on the morsing, Hema Balsubramaniam on the flute. The lighting was effectively done by Ranganath.

At the end of the mangalam, the tears in Nandini’s eyes said it all.