Two senior dancers from two different styles, disciples of two veteran gurus offered a dance tribute at the Experimental Theatre, NCPA.
‘Bhavrang’ by Lingaraj Pradhan was an interplay of emotions. In the opening ‘Sri Rudrashtakam,’ a composition of Saint poet Gowswami Tulasidas as part of the epic creation of Ramcharitmanas, comprising eight verses, he extolled the various attributes and aspects of Siva. Through his dance, the worshipper implores Siva, the formless one, to bestow his blessings. Taking the mood of surrender along, the devotee declares that he does not know the rituals of worship. All he knows is utmost faith. The piece opened in quietude, and moved on to a crescendo of fast footwork. The piece was choreographed by Lingaraj Pradhan and Sanjukta Dutta Pradhan.
Next was an abhinaya piece titled ‘Karna.’ In a dance dialogue between Karna and Krishna, Karna raises doubts on the concept of Dharma or righteousness. Where was Dharma when his mother Kunti abandoned him as he was born out of wedlock? His upbringing as a charioteer denied him training as a Kshatriya, he was cursed by his Guru, Indra beguiled him into giving away his divinely protective armour, as for lord Krishna, he instructed Arjun to kill him when he was unarmed and his chariot was stuck. Despite all these injustices, he would still in all his pride and dignity would choose to be born as Karna and Karna alone. In this poignant piece, choreographed by his Guru Bichitrananda Swain, Lingaraj brought out the deep-seated pain of Karna, establishing an effective emotional connect.
The guru-sishya bond
In ‘Charanamrutham,’ Lata Surendra offered her prayers to her guru T.S. Kadirvelu Pillai. “Through Charanamtrutham, I seek to highlight the sacred bond through Diksha, awakening one to the creator behind the creation. The intangible essence of those energised rhythms I have imbibed motivate the disciple in me at all times,” says Lata Surendra.
Guru slokam ‘Akhanda Mandalakaram’ captured the visual delineation of Akar-Nirakar, the interplay of sound and silence. This led into the Alaripu, recording in the master’s voice, with 14 Aksharams (Khanda jathi Ata talam) through which the concept of Shivashakti was portrayed.
In the varnam ‘Sakhiye Nee Inda Velayil’ (Ananda Bhairavi, Adi, Thanjavur Quartette) Lata did full justice to the genius of her master. The unusual Mohras, fast unfaltering footwork, the offbeat eduppu underlined by the preceding silence, and her darting eyes filled with expressions made the varnam visually fulfilling. The unexpected inclusion of the ‘Krishna Karnamrutham’ slokam highlighted the essence of the universal truth.
Shivaprasad on the vocal enhanced the beauty of the varnam lyrics and the Krishna Karnamrutham while Kalishwaran Pillai on the nattuvangam and Dakshinamurthy Pillai on the mridangam added to the rhythmic patterns. For the latter two, sons of Kadirvelu Master, it was at once a moment of pride and recollection of the past. Balasubramaniam on the violin added to the musicality.
The tillana in ragam Brindavana Saranga set to Rupaka talam was yet another marathon of rhythm. She danced impromptu a jati from a jatiswaram to demonstrate the coexistence of complexity and simplicity in her guru’s choreography.
The power-packed presentation of Lata Surendra with pulsating stillness was well- applauded.
‘Charanamrutham’ conveyed the message that ‘Moksha Moolam Gurur Krupa’ (the root of liberation is the grace of the guru).