Yearly Natyarangam, the dance wing of Narada Gana Sabha, brings collectively artistes and students for its annual thematic competition. Dancers, each younger and established, sit up for carry out at this competition, which supplies them a chance to look past the standard repertoire to create a full-length work. For the previous 26 editions, the competition has been developing with totally different themes. This yr’s, titled ‘Rithu Bharatham’, was primarily based on the six seasons. Dancers together with musicians and useful resource individuals explored the myriad sides of every rithu (season).
However the pointers to essentially embody works of Kalidasa, Sangam literature, Ragamala work and festivals gave the impression to be constricting, with the dancers not with the ability to visualise the theme in their very own distinct approach. A set template resulted in a well-known sample on all six days.
Rama Vaidyanathan segmented the season into 5 elements starting with Saumya and ending with Apeksha.
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SRINATH M
Rama Vaidyanathan’s Vasantha Rithu
The competition started with senior Bharatanatyam dancer Rama Vaidyanathan heralding the Spring (Vasantha Rithu). Rama introduced the season in 5 elements — Saumya (season of equanimity), Punaravarthana (rejuvenation), Kama roopini (love), Bahu Varnani (multi-hued), and Apeksha (hope).
Rama Vaidyanathan created a visible imagery of spring.
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SRINATH M
Backed by a well-composed soundscape, she described days and nights of the season by means of attention-grabbing concepts — scattering of seeds to the rhythm of tanam and utilizing swara passages for various flowers. The spotlight was her detailed exploration of the lotus flower, on which stands goddess Saraswathi. For this imagery, she used the music ‘Saraswathi namosthuthe’, composed by G.N. Balaubramaniam in raga Saraswathi.
The part exhibiting Manmatha gliding on his vahana Parrot was gracefully introduced. Nevertheless, the descriptions of the cool breeze, swaying palms, birds, bees, peacocks and deer have been just a little overstretched. Spring is marked by essentially the most vibrant competition Holi and Raslila dance. Rama introduced them from the perspective of a contemporary bride and her concern for the surroundings.
The music was conceived by S. Vasudevan, who used devices akin to ghatam, kanjira, sitar and appropriate ragas for various sequences.
Apoorva Jayaraman’s Grishma Rithu
Apoorva Jayaraman and the saga of summer season
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SRINATH M
It was time to maneuver on to the following season — Summer time, as Apoorva Jayaraman introduced ‘Grishma Rithu‘. Sporting a waistcoat on prime of the Bharatanatyam costume, Apoorva appeared as Manmatha and carried out verses from Kalidasa’s Ritu Samharam to depict Kamadeva. In contrast to the romantic portrayal in spring, the imageries right here included Manmatha’s drooping sugarcane bow, wilting flowers of his arrow, and a drained parrot, conveying the exhaustion attributable to warmth.
Apoorva Jayaraman portrayed the water disaster throughout summer season.
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SRINATH M
Water shortage, a standard drawback confronted throughout summer season, was conveyed by means of an attractive abhinaya sequence. The piece confirmed a mom’s love as she quenches her baby’s thirst with the little quantity of water that she has, earlier than she embarks on a protracted journey to acquire water.
Apoorva Jayaraman used jathis to indicate the blazing solar
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SRINATH M
Rhythmic jathis to indicate the blazing solar, and swaras to depict the peacock have been attention-grabbing, however repetitive musical phrases all through the efficiency appeared tedious.
Vaibhav Arekar’s Varsha
Vaibhav Arekar’s dramatic portrayal of the monsoon.
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SRINATH M
Vaibhav Arekar’s ‘Varsha — Harvest of Misplaced Desires’, took the collection right into a dance-theatre mode. The artistes of the well-put-together musical ensemble have been wearing black to go together with the temper of the season.
The premise of Vaibhav’s efficiency was primarily based on a farmer’s emotional join with Nature. He started by exhibiting a farmer ploughing, tilling and sowing seeds, and ready for the rains for an excellent harvest. Nevertheless, when the monsoon doesn’t arrive on time, he’s shattered. The piece concluded with the farmer surrendering to Nature’s vagaries.
Vaibhav Arekar conveyed the emotional relationship between man and Nature.
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SRINATH M
The scene that stood out was the place Vaibhav lay beneath the highlight, slowly and gracefully elevating up his palms as if holding his beloved in a decent embrace. It confirmed the sturdy bond between man and Nature.
Jathi korvais and adavus have been used fantastically to convey the power of the solar and drive of the water. Dikshitar’s composition ‘Anandamrithakarshini’, a Sangam poetry, and works of Kalidasa and Bharati have been woven seamlessly to convey the concept.
Monsoon evokes a sense of anticipation, pleasure and pleasure. Nevertheless, on this efficiency the temper was largely of angst, anguish, and fury.
Visible pictures
It was a fantastic thought to make use of Ragamala work, a novel type of Indian miniature portray, as a supply materials. However the work might have been projected extra meaningfully, and for all the length of the items primarily based on them. This might have helped the viewers to attract a join between these work primarily based on ragas and the season related to them and the dance. It might have then served higher the aim of drawing a parallel between the 2 artwork varieties.
