Performing for Narada Gana Sabha, Suryanarayamoorthy revealed artistry of a high calibre, his maturity and experience taking flight in the varnam ‘Roopamu Joochi,’ a composition of Muthuswamy Dikshitar in raga Thodi as choreographed for the Kalakshetra repertoire.
The Nritta sections were brief without being stretched unnecessarily and the dancer’s movements were marked by precision and clarity of lines.
Memorable visuals
The abhinaya sequences had some memorable visuals. For instance, the feeling of a devotee, which was communicated with clarity — beginning with the devotee looking at the shoulders and arms of the icon, and then slowly letting the gaze travel from head to toe and finally stretching out the hands to signify the expanse of the all pervading god. Equally beautiful was the way he portrayed the dance of Siva, starting from the tingling sounds of the bells before describing the visual details.
The Tulsidas bhajan, ‘Bhajamana Rama Charan,’ however, was the best, the dancer becoming Tulsidas. The anger of sage Gautama and the embrace of Ahalya by Indra in disguise were handled with dignity. Small details such as plucking a flower and soaking in its fragrance, added beauty to Krishna’s depiction in ‘Vatasiyati,’ Ashtapadi verse, where the darling of Radha walks away in embrace. A thillana in raga Behag composed by Thuraiyur Rajagopala Sarma marked the finale.
Shobana Balachandra conducted the performance with R. Sai providing vocal support complemented by Kesavan on the mridangam and Vijayaraghavan on the violin.