Intoxicated

Words cannot completely describe this heady elevated feeling that I am currently engulfed by. Before you start thinking that I am feeling drunk after a weekend of revelry, I’d like you to pause. My stimulation for this intoxication is of a different kind and the best that the world has to offer. The last weekend has been one of the most soul stirring immersions in my favorite form of classical dance, Bharatanatyam.  All three dancers of the recently concluded dance festival, the Divinity series (27^th-29^th September 2013 at Chinmaya Mission, Delhi) have left me moved.

Rama Vaidyanathan inaugurated the festival with her graceful mayuri allaripu. I marveled at the sheer skill with which she captured the subtle movements of a peacock to recreate its magnificence through dance. So real was her depiction, that if she were to perform this in a garden, the national bird would be easily fooled and begin to court her! In another composition, Lord Ram discloses to his wife, Sita that he has been banished from the kingdom and would proceed all by himself. How can you even dream of leaving without me, she implores. Consumed by hurt she asks him how she would live the life of luxury within the palace precincts while her husband roamed the jungles surrounded by wild animals. Rama’s depiction of shock, bewilderment and deep pain that Sita experiences was so authentic and tears welled up almost instantly. And then she takes a jab at the male ego by saying, “If you are planning to leave your wife, what kind of a man are you?” Sita, the quintessential Indian woman- the power of her love and dedication for her husband was so palpable. And she spares no opportunity to strike back when her love is under attack. It made me wonder if such utter devotion exists among women of today or did this only exist among the women of yore? All three artistes of the festival chose to depict the sacred and the indomitable feminine shakti, symbolized by their unending fortitude, passion and surrender. 

 Rama’s last piece, Shivoham transported me to another world. As she slowed down to the repetitive notes of ‘Jeevah Shivah, Shivo Jeevah,’ I found myself slipping into the inner depths of my being. Just when I had moved to that space of silence, she moved into a speedy teermanam. It made me sit up and be dazzled by the brilliance of her nritta on stage. Her sudden break seemed to suggest the reality of a fast paced life that we call maya. Dive deep into your divine self to source the soothing silence into our world of illusion is what I took away. With her captivating abhinaya she is able to hold the attention of the audience for a substantial period of time enabling one to completely absorb the sentiments of the nayika. What I think she is a master of is her ability to get under the skin of the characters she portrays. So whether it’s a graceful bird, the jilted nayika or the elephant like gait of the nayak, her ability to bring it alive for the audience is unparalleled. In another padam, Radha is trying to silence her lover, Krishna by asking him to stop playing the flute. A playful Krishna continues to trouble her. While she tells him to go away lest the neighborhood would wake up, one can see a part of her also enjoying the attention she has been getting.  The brilliance of the dancer is seen in the way she balances the nayika’s annoyance with a coy expression of her delight.    

I watched Meenakshi Srinivasan, on stage for the first time and I had goosebumps all through her performance. I loved the way she held her space. For Shakespeare, all the world’s a stage but Meenakshi commanded the stage like it was her world and played the many roles with effortless grace and perfection. Sheer honey flowed from her lips when she introduced her compositions. She drew in the viewer by her stylized narration, almost like lyrical poetry. Her heavily emphasized syllables in ‘Andaal’ and ‘Vrindavan’ are still ringing in my ears. So soothing are her words that even a person disinterested in dance, would sit up and take notice. While each composition was breathtakingly beautiful, her padam on Radha and Krishna stayed with me.  This was by far the most sensual Bharatanatyam composition I have seen and one that was depicted with poignant charm. Radha urges Krishna to re apply the kohl in her eyes that have been smudged during a night of passion. She is not ashamed of the love marks on her body and asks the Lord to soothe them with sandalwood and musk. With no nritta at all, the beauty of this piece could be appreciated only by the dancer’s evocative abhinaya. A slow and soft and composition that explored the depths of the feminine persona--unabashed in love, bold in her requests, yet shy and graceful in her demeanor. The ambience created by her was so potent that one could completely relate to Radha’s mood. Having interacted with Meenakshi, I am also completely taken in by her humility. The fact that she remains unaffected and possibly unaware of her phenomenal expertise and beauty makes her persona even more appealing.

On the final day, the dance enthusiasts of Delhi were treated to a delightful performance by a U.S based dancer, Mythili Prakash. My jaw dropped in awe and wonder when she performed her racy nritta with accuracy that would shame a Swiss watch. In the ashtapadi, Radha’s sakhi shares her pain of separation from her beloved Krishna. The theme of separation is not an uncommon subject and has been depicted very often through dance and drama. Yet it continues to tug at your heartstrings. Mythili’s ability to express this deep anguish left a lump in my throat.  In the hour and a half of her performance, I was transported to another world- one where I could touch the depths of the rasa and be one with the bhav of the nayika. Her concluding piece was a befitting closure to the festival on divinity. Tarana in Rag Natabhairavi, composed by Maestro Pandit Ravi Shankar was a prayer for Inner Awakening. ‘He Nath, hum par kripa keejiye’- she urges the Lord to help us find the space within that transcends the physical realm to reach out to our higher purpose.

Not one with a fascination for Carnatic music, this time round the music of the performances also touched a chord in me. Not to mention the Gandharva choir which set the mood for the scintillating dance performances that was to follow. 

The vision of the organizers, Deepak and Jyotsna Shourie was beautifully captured in the Divinity series. I share their dream in making art and culture the very essence of our existence. May the movement towards our inner self that our arts can trigger, become infectious amongst India’s burgeoning youth. May this be that space where they find an anchor, a peace within that can arm them suitably to face the challenges of a big bad world out there.  

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