Nartaki Natraj’s performance was underscored with rich bhava

There are moments in any artistic pursuit when retrospection often throws light on the evolution and transformation the art has undergone over the years. One experienced this while watching Nartaki Natraj’s performance at the Music Academy’s digital festival this year.

The ata tala khanda jathi, Kamboji raga tana varnam, ‘Sarasijanabha’, composed by the Thanjavur Quartet, was Nartaki’s piece of choice. She performed it to the accompaniment of a 30-year-old recording, with her guru Kittappa Pillai singing and doing the nattuvangam. The guru’s rendition had power and azhutham that came from deep within, unlike the frequently heard melodious renderings in recent times. How important it is for a dancer to express the bhava through her dance could be felt in Guru Kittappa Pillai’s musical rendition, where every emotion was chiselled out by his nuanced singing.

The singing of the entire swara passages of the pallavi, anupallavi, and chittaswaram before embarking on the sahitya was delightful. It also gave scope for nritta explorations to set the pace for the varnam. The sounds of the cymbals fusing with the rendition of sollukattus, the clarity of footwork in the theermanams, and the classical adavu patterns made the nritta segments lively.

Vivid portrayal

Nartaki’s elaborate visualisation of the lotus, on which Padmanabha rests, and the various anecdotes of Ahalya, Hanuman, Vibishana, and Bharatha, which a devotee recalls while offering his prayers, was engrossing. The ‘Gajendra moksham’ episodes were presented with subtlety, without exaggerating the story.

The devotional feel lingered in the Rabindra Sangeet, composed by poet Nazrul Islam, where a devotee prays for redemption from the bondage of life. With prayers to the mother goddess, the dancer captured the mood in a very sensitive manner, aided by a beautiful vocal rendition.

“Are you speaking to an innocent girl like me for a romantic dalliance,” asks the nayika in the Natabhairavi raga, Kavadichindu, ‘Arumugane Vadivelavane’, composed by Annamalai Reddiyar. Nartaki’s portrayal brought out the varied emotions of innocence, mischief, and coquetry of a young woman experiencing the first flush of love convincingly. The singing of each line alternately in slow and fast tempo ideally suited the folk flavour of the dance movements.

Poochi Srinivasa Iyengar’s Kapi raga javali, ‘Sarasamulade’, gave ample scope for the dancer to explore the various similes for love like intertwining creepers, cooing birds, and the heroine’s own feelings in a poetic manner. Nartaki’s experience and penchant for abhinaya aided the representation of a mature heroine in this composition with ease.

A vibrant thillana in raga Khamas was a fitting finale to an evening of artistic merit rooted in classicism.

The Chennai-based writer reviews classical dance.