The first 10 days of the annual Soorya Festival were dedicated to classical dance and music performances by seasoned artistes. Class act The dance segment of the festival got off to a fine start with a Bharatanatyam recital by Meenakshi Srinivasan, which was nothing short of a class act. The central piece was a Tanjore Quartet swarajathi in Yadukulakamboji featuring a heroine in love with Lord Brihadeeswara. While a familiar premise, the dancer was able to give it a distinct flair, and through her immaculate abhinaya the dancer was able to communicate that mood very well. With short additions, like how the nayika struggled to get a glimpse of her Lord as a little girl, and then switching back to the present state of being troubled by Cupid’s arrows, the dancer was able to show how the nayika’s love has grown over the years. The technique of using a reference from the past was again seen in the Ashtapadi piece, where Radha recollects the day she first met the mischievous Krishna. A javali by Patnam Subramania Iyer in a lighter tone, in between the main piece and the Ashtapadi, made sure that her rectial wasn’t monotonous. Choreography set to jathis and swaras in the varnam, an opening pushpanjali-alarippu piece and a Sindu Bhairavi thillana towards the end enthralled the audience. Exhilarating performance With a Meera Bai padavali turned into a varnam set to primarily Hindustani ragas, a Bharathiar song in Jaunpuri in place of a padam and two choreographed pieces using verses from traditional texts, rendered in a mix of ragas, as the opening and concluding items, Rama Vaidyanathan’s recital was a perfect instance of how one can expand the realms of Bharatanatyam while still being well within the boundaries of the repertoire. Exploring new vistas doesn’t really promise a wonderful experience, but being an experienced artiste, Rama made sure everything was in place to make her performance exhilarating. While the varnam spoke of the nayika’s desire to unite with the Lord, she was able to bring a whole new dimension to it by drawing parallels with every living being’s desire for water or, ultimately, life. The heroines that followed — one who forgets her lover’s face in Asai mugam maranthu poche... and the Sakhi who makes sure Brihadeeswara listens to her friend’s message in the javali Dani bodhana... were also quite engaging. It’s not easy responding to a last minute call (in place of Priyadarshini Govind who couldn’t make it owing to a fracture in her arm) and performing to a recorded track. But Lakshmi Parthasarathy Athreya managed to present a fine Bharatanatyam recital. Notable pieces A Swathi Thirunal varnam based on the deeds of Hanuman, mostly episodes from the Ramayana, was the central piece. Theruvil varano..., a padam in raga Khamas by Muthu Thandavar, with the heroine expecting a glance from Nataraja, was another notable piece in her recital. Rhythmic virtuosity During the course of his Kathak recital, Rajendra Kumar Gangani mentioned that he believes in “swacch Kathak, just like ‘Swacch Bharath.’” Adding to it, one could say that the performance was swasth and sundar as well. Along with his brother Fateh Singh Gangani on the tabla, the Kathak maestro certainly had his moments, showing his rhythmic virtuosity over the medium. It was entertaining to watch both of them perfectly landing on sam for different beat cycles, presenting situations such as a horse ride or the arrival of the rain or movements of an elephant or the dance of a peacock. However, for those who might have seen Gangani’s performance two years ago on the very same stage, it was not all that exciting as many of the same numbers were presented wit few changes. With panache Janakai Rangarajan sprinted, hopped, swayed and danced to her heart’s content, presenting a style of Bharatanatyam and an atmosphere on stage that she has made her own. Adding to it were peppy introductions to each item. In the main piece - Dari teliyaka vachchinavemo…, a tana varnam in Darbar and Ata tala by Patnam Subramania Iyer, in which a sarcastic nayika mocks the actions of the other woman, she could not succeed in holding the interest of the audience till the very end. Also, the Vidyapati song Ki kahab he sakhi... in rag Yaman, exploring the Radha-Krishna romance, wasn’t all that different from a routine Ashtapadi. However, these hardly mattered to the recital in its entirety. The opening Akhilam madhuram... and the concluding thillana in raga Vasantha merged with a Meera Bai bhajan were lively, mostly filled with fine-tuned dance sequences. When it comes to getting stages and attention, being a cine-actor certainly works in Manju Warrier’s favour. Stage presence She always tries her best to do justice to the stage and the opportunity given. The items she presented — a poorvaranga, a tarangam, a keerthanam and the final piece, Brahmam okate... might not have been great attempts in the purview of the festival, but she somewhat compensated for it with her on-stage charisma and the innate beauty of those manoeuvres and postures. The festival came to a closure with a Kathak-Kuchipudi jugalbandi presented by Madhumita Roy and Madhuri Majumdar. While there were a few aspects in their recital which calls for appreciation, as a whole, one felt, it could’ve been better imagined and presented.

Stay updated with all the Latest Thiruvananthapuram headlines here. For more exclusive & live news updates from all around India, stay connected with NYOOOZ.