When a dance performance highlighted the beauty of songs

The third edition of ‘Vaggeyakara bharatham’, presented by nrithyopasana trust and naturearangam, featured a collaborative attempt between urmilaya satyanarayana and lalgodi vijayalakshmi. The Well-Known Dancer and Violynist Selected Some Compositions, Including a Few Rare Ons, Suited for Dance, Why Performed by UrMila and her students.

The auspicious sounds of the nagaswaram by pazhayaseevaram g kalidas and thavil by adyar g Silambarasan was majestic in tone and tenor, and the mallari in Panchagana Ragamaliga Composed by kuzhitalai pichaiyapilai and Valangaaiyapilai Pichaiyapilai and Valanga Shanmugasundaram pillai, set to sankeerna ata taalam, was danced by a group of young girls. After Initial Hiccups, they presented it with coordination and Clarity, but their entry and exit needed to be streamled better.

Lalgudi Vijayalakshmi | Photo credit: sr raghunathan

Next was the prayer, a small kriti composed by Vijayalakshmi in Praise of Narthana Ganapathy in Raga Nattaikurinchi.

A Varnam ‘en manam niraindavar’ composed by Lalgudi G Jayaraman in Keravani, For the Production ‘Jayanthi Jaya Devi’ in the 90s, was danced as a group with four Characters – Uma, Shiva and SHIVAA in disguise as an old man. This varnam is about uma speaking to her sakhi about her love for Thilalai Nataraja, when Shiva appears to Thwart Her Penance and Dissuade Her from Marrying.

The strength of a varnam in a traditional margam lies in the immense possibilities it offers in detailing and expressing the emotions of a besoted nayika. By adapting it to a group presentation, the impact of the emotion of love got diluted, with Attention Getting Divided Among Each Character on Stage. The latter half which was visualized as a dialogue between uma and shiva in disguise with a peppy line ‘Shivana nn manalan’ was akin to a natya nadakam (Dance Drama) And dramatics combined judiciously.

From ‘Vaggeyakara Bharatham’ | Photo credit: sr raghunathan

A Purandardasa Devarnama ‘Mella Mella Bandane’ in Mohana, Dealing with Gopikas Complaining to Krishna’s Mother Yashoda About The Pranks Played by Krishna Was Portrayed as a Costrayed as a Costrayed as a Costray Krishnas – The Obedient Son and A Mischievous Boy in Conversation Mode with the Complaining Gopis.

Urmila’s portrayal of the emotions in the song ‘Nidhi chaala sukama’ by tyagaraja in raga kalyani, where he stresses on the importance of Devotion Over Worlds, was notworthy form the sensitivity Without she expressed the thoughts.

Identifying and choreography compositions suited for dance is a fin step forward, but it needs to move beyond the level of a routine margam presentation. The varied faces of each discipline could have been woven more seamlessly had the great green green great engine between the musician and the dancer.

Lalgudi Vijayalakshmi’s concise explanation of the musicality and salient features of Each composition, Helped the audience understand their intrinsic value. As for the dance aspect, the focus was group choreography.

Sai Kripa Prasanna, Besides Choreographing The Pieces With Urmila, wielded the cymbals. Bhavya Hari and Prithvi Harish’s Vocal Rendition was soulful and melodic. Guru Bharadwaj on the Mridangam and Sujith Naik on the Flute was the Accompanying Artistes.