The rhythm of mystic philosophies

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM:  The walls of Ganesham auditorium resonated with the rhythms of chilanka of dancers, Bhadra Sinha and Gayathri Sharma on Wednesday evening. The Delhi-based Bharatanatyam dancers engrossed the crowd with graceful movements mixed with abhinayas at the Prampara segment of the ongoing Soorya Dance and Music Festival.  

The duo showcased a lineup of five pieces in the Bharatanatyam repertoire, composed and choreographed by their gurus, Dr Ratheesh Babu and V Krishnamoorthi. The classical presentation started with a keerthanam, worshipping Shiva and Vishnu. Then, they moved into varnam, an invocation of Ayyappa. 

The end of the recital was a celebration of Shakthi and Shiva that conveyed the real meaning of Ardhanareeshwara to the spectators. The piece was based on the Ardhanarishwara Stotram by Sri Adi Shankaracharya which describes the beauty and strength of both the male and female energies, says Gayathri Sharma who donned the role of Shakthi.

“We as artists are passionate about taking Bharatanatyam to places. Also to retain the essence of this art form, we need performances that would connect with present-day audiences. But that said, the current social issues, including gender equality, are also philosophically narrated in our mythology and Ardhanareeshwara is about it. So we are researching such philosophies, which are still relevant, through Bharatanatyam,” says Bhadra Sinha, who is also a journalist by profession. 

The dancers who were well-versed in classical dance from a young age took a break two decades ago due to their personal and professional lives. With an equal passion to perform more, Gayathri and Bhadra resumed Bharatanatyam in 2015. “We started duet productions in 2019 through our artists’ collective, Kalakrithi Arts based in Delhi,” says Bhadra.

Gayathri says they had tweaked the traditional composition with Hindi and English monologues and poetry. “Being women, the element of gender equality come into the productions consciously. May it be in the family or profession, the need of a woman must be understood in society,” Gayathri says.

It was an honour to perform before the culturally and artistically rich crowd here. It gives us the confidence to perform on more stages,” concludes Gayathri, who is a corporate professional.