Lakshmi Parthasarathy Athreya and Shashwati Garai Ghosh
| Photograph Credit score: Photograph courtesy: Aalaap
‘Anubhav’ was an expertise — of cultural exploration, of magnificence in motion, and of the enjoyment of dancing. Offered by Aalaap at Medai, Chennai, the taglines for the present learn: ‘Deeper with the senses…the deep, silent change of energies… this leela with dance goes on’. It was a collaboration between Bharatanatyam dancer Lakshmi Parthasarathy Athreya (disciple of Chitra Visweswaran) and Odissi dancer Shashwati Garai Ghosh (disciple of Sharmila Biswas), a high-energy celebration certainly.
Whereas the idea of the central Marga type belonging to South-East Asia and the regional Desi kinds exists, there’s a corollary — the commonality between the dances of the east coast of India — ‘Anubhav’ inadvertently explored this.
Over the 75 minutes of lovely music, the dancers bonded over the commonality of rhythm and poetry. It was a steady move with voiceovers smoothening the transitions — the spot-on lighting made the confluence poetic.
Rhythmic and sleek
The opening ‘Samagama’ ( choreography by Sharmila Biswas, music composition by Srijan Chatterjee) launched the dance kinds. Lakshmi started with a brisk rhythmic assertion and an excerpt from a Pushpanjali, whereas Shashwati with a sleek piece, ‘Sthai Nato.’
Every held her personal type. Lakshmi’s solo was a devotional keerthanam, ‘Anjaneya raghurama duta’ (Saveri, Adi, Swati Tirunal, dance visualisation by Chitra Visweswaran) depicting Hanuman’s strengths and virtues, together with his adventures from the Sundarakandam. Lakshmi has developed a method of her personal – she revels within the physicality of motion, usually pushing herself to discover. Like the usage of area and a large sweep of the torso, and a deep araimandi to emphasize a degree.
It goes with out saying that the position of Hanuman suited the light-footed Lakshmi. There isn’t any indulgence in her type. Her narratives have been fast, matter of reality, as Hanuman made the journey to Lanka and again. There was a picture-perfect second with the ‘Ekapadasana’ pose, symbolising Hanuman carrying the Sanjeevani mountain.
Participating portrayal
Shashwati banked on her intensive emotive prowess, particularly netra abhinaya, to discover the human aspect of the reviled demoness. ‘Katha Surpanakha’ (idea and choreography by Sharmila Biswas) used masks to symbolize each aspect of Surpanakha — a girl who falls in love, a reworked seductress, a ferocious demoness, an avenging sufferer, and so on.
Within the stunning forest, filled with evocative sounds, Surpanakha is bathing within the river when she sees human footsteps. She follows them into the forest. There’s a second, suspended in time, when she sees Rama. She swoons, recollecting his ‘sundara- roopa’. She transforms into a girl with dancing eyes, hopes and desires. She joyously follows him. All of a sudden aware, she checks herself, and tries to catch his consideration. Rama responds, ‘I’ve a spouse’ and factors to his brother. Surpanakha turns to Lakshmana. This goes backwards and forwards. The determined Surpanakha has her nostril minimize off and feels betrayed. ‘Tatha kim?’ she yells, ‘What’s the use?’ She removes her masks and unleashes her true violent self, promising to hunt revenge on the brothers. You virtually really feel sorry for Surpanakha in the long run.
Shashwati donned the position with ease, altering moods because the narrative flowed, maybe not in a linear however in a circuitous, creative means. Lovely music, evocative rhythm and delicate characterisation spoke of the choreographer’s and the dancer’s abilities. Nothing was overtly violent or noisy, particularly the angst and the violent outburst. Subtlety dominated this piece.
The dancers, closed with Jayadeva’s Ashtapadi, ‘Sakhi he’ (dance visualisation by Sharmila Biswas, music composition by Srijan Chatterjee). The swap in roles — each as Radha, Krishna and Radha, Radha and sakhi, seamlessly melted into the musical mosaic as the extreme love scene unfolded. The dancers mirrored the sensitivity, as they wove an online of glad chemistry, as they looked for the elusive Krishna, right here, there, all over the place in a continuum.