Bharatanatyam dancer Uma Ramesh.
| Photo Credit: Photo: Special Arrangement
It was a thematic margam and the chosen deity for the night was the lord of dance Shiva. Uma Ramesh, in her performance for Brahma Gana Sabha, selected to make this thematic presentation extra significant by conceptualising a recital that moved from the bodily to a philosophical state.
The introduction to Shiva started with a brisk Mallari in raga Gambhira Nattai and a padigam by Karaikal Ammaiyar in Kalyani. This padigam eulogises the dance of the lord of Thiruvalangadu kshetram, the place he dances impressed by the sounds of the saptaswaras and musical devices. Uma’s choreography of the bodily construction of the temple within the Mallari started with an outline of the temple pond stuffed with lotus, and the architectural particulars, the shrines of Vinayaka and Murugan, and the grand procession of the deity on his vahana.
Meaningful sancharis
Then, there was a transition from the descriptive mode to an emotional state of affection, with a nayika asking her confidante to go and fetch the lord, whose absence is making her coronary heart really feel heavy. ‘Samiyai azhathodi va’, a Thanjavur Quartet varnam in Khamas, supplied a nice show of significant sancharis and nritta patterns.
Moving deeper into the sensation of bhakti and give up, Uma offered Gopalakrishna Bharathi’s ‘Varugalamo aiyya’ in Manji. Nandanar requests the Lord to solid his benevolent gaze on him in order that he can get a glimpse, and asks if he may are available. Uma’s abhinaya captured the poignancy within the lyrics.
‘Parashiva’, a poem composed by Subramania Bharati in raga Sarasangi, handled the philosophical thought of the union of the physique and soul, resulting in an exalted state the place the devotee merges with the almighty.
Uma concluded with a thillana in Nadanamakriya by Ok.S. Balakrishnan, who additionally did the nattuvangam. The orchestral group consisted of S.R. Praveen (vocal), Vedakrishnan (mridangam), Kalaiarasan (violin) and Sujith Naik (flute).