Sai Nrityothsav continues to Delight
Text: Kavitha Krishnamurthy
Exactly, a year ago, Sai International celebrated its 100th edition of Sai Nrityothsav on September 1, 2017. Back then, a stellar line up of performances with the likes of the Dhananjayans performing Bharatanatyam, Sunanda Nair performing Mohiniattam, Sujata Mohapatra performing Odissi and Manju Bhargavee performing Kuchipudi mesmerised the audience. Cut to the present, the 112th edition of the festival carried the same spirit forward.
The evening began with the Bharatanatyam performance by Tincy Monnappa, a disciple of Guru Anuradha Vikrant. Having earnestly learnt Bharatanatyam from the age of five, she has truly mastered the art form. Tincy began with Chandra Chooda, a popular Devaranama composed by Purandara Dasa. She depicted various episodes of Lord Shiva. Next, she performed Yeni Mahanandave an Antarpura Geete composed by famous Kannada writer DV Gundappa, in raga Hamsadhwani set to tala Adi. The artist paid complete justice to what she did with her good expression and movements which were perfect to the last detail.
Mayura and Hamsa, disciples and daughters of Guru V Balagurunathan from Chennai. They started their Bharatanatyam presentation with a Vinayaka Kauthuvam invoking and offering their salutations to Lord Ganesha. In their very first performance, the duo struck a rapport with rasikas. The duo performed Kaanal Vari in raga Kadanakutuhala set to tala Adi. They concluded their performance with a Thillana again in raga Kadanakutuhala. Every Korvai, the duo presented was breathtaking in its beauty, design and rendition. They provided absolute delight to the onlookers.
Guru Sandesh Bhargav presented his student Anusha GM. She received a huge round of applause for her performance. Her mastery of dance showed in her integrity of line maintaining control even when she lunged, stretched or twisted. She presented a Chaturasra Melaprapthi and Email Shloki Ramayana in Ragamalika set to Talamalika. She proceeded with a Kouthuvam on Lord Nataraja and ended with a Krithi on Goddess Saraswati.
Disciples of Karnataka Kalashree Guru Dr Suparna Venkatesh presented Bharatanatyam. They commenced their recital with a Shiva Stuthi ‘Karunadi Kaayo Nataraja’ in raga Lavangi set to tala Adi. Then they moved to present a Thodaya Mangalam, ‘Jaya Janaki Ramana’ in Ragamalika and Talamalika and concluded it with a Thillana in raga Brindavani set to tala Adi Tala.
Sai Nrityothsav got to witness a Kathak performance by the students of Kavyashree Nagaraj. They began with a Ganesh Vandana and a Tulasidas bhajan in Raga Bhupali. Their next choice was a Bhavageethe composed by Rashtra Kavi Kuvempu ‘Aanandamaya Ee Jagahrudaya’. They then performed Mahadeva, a composition describing the greatness of Lord Shiva and concluded with Raag Taal Maal, a complete Nritta composition set to Teen Taal, ending with an intrinsic combination of footwork showing the complexity of the art.
