An Arangetram with Added Splendor
More youngsters take to Indian classical dance

The Show

Pooja showed a sincere expression of devotion right from the beginning of the performance with reverence to God, teacher and the elders in the audience, following a Sanskrit verse in praise of God. The selection of dances included a formal syllabus usually covered in the course of a dancer’s training. Although it was born in Tamil Nadu, Bharatanatyam is no more just a regional art form, but national property, soon to become an internationally adopted art form. This became clearer with the inclusion of Gujrati songs where Pooja felt completely at home expressing the pangs of separation of Radha from her beloved Krishna who had left Brindavan, Radha’s home, for Mathura, where he was crowned king.

In the jathiswaram, Pooja scored an A plus in not missing even a single beat while keeping up with complicated jatis (set of syllables arrayed to rhythmic compositions) and transitioning to graceful movements during the rendering of interlinked swaras without showing any strain

In the piece Madurashtakam, Pooja ably depicted Yashoda rocking the cradle to make the baby sleep, while recounting Krishna’s leelas or stories to the audience.
The varnam is the piece where the artist’s maturity is tested. Pooja easily crossed the line of the average student.

The orchestra was the live wire of the show. Flutist Narasimhamurthy Ramamishra was the dominating artist who stole the show with his powerful mastery over the melodies. He was not playing the flute, but became the flute himself. Next in line was the powerful sound of percussion from the mridangam player Srihari Rangaswamy. How his involvement could make the dancer emphasize the jatis was clearly seen when he played the jatis with exact talam (set of beats).

The lead singer M.K. Rajesh brought such sweetness in his voice that we saw more beauty in the already beautiful composition of Indian poetry. Singers Hemal Shah and Brijesh Soni had a great sense of softness in their voices that captivated listeners. It was however unfortunate that adequate opportunity was not given to the excellent veena player Nivedita Shivraj throughout the performance, except for a brief interlude when we heard her versatility between loud conversations of the audience. Nivedita joined the team at a much later date, which could explain this factor.

With an excellent agile body, Pooja rendered some of the most striking poses where she could bend her back all the way to make a circle, bringing her head to touch her feet. It will be good to see her keep up the practice and show us that she can still do it in her twenties and thirties.

While it is a great service to our culture to promote Indian performing arts, it is also necessary to review our performance and improve where necessary in order to maintain the richness of our tradition. Hence, some suggestions.

It would have been more appropriate if the dancer had entered the stage facing the audience rather than showing her back. If the purpose was to create a mood of suspense, she could have been on stage in a dark setting with the light slowly brightening up her face.
Secondly, Tamil and Sanskrit songs should be understood thoroughly. For example, the meaning of the words ‘maduraadhipate’ and ‘maduram’ was not depicted even once in Madurashtakam.

Third, a dancer should remember that every depiction must be considered real so that the audience can follow the continuity in a story. For example, when you carry a pot of milk or butter, you cannot leave the pot in the air and then go on to depict some other scenario without first keeping the pot down.

Overall, this arangetram was definitely of high quality. Hope to see Pooja rise in this field.