Music & dance reviews

Nrithya Jathre
The Sahambhavi School of Dance conducted the “Nrithya Jathre” at the Freedom Park open theatre (old jail premises), which attracted a large gathering. Apart from the performances, workshops were held in Bharatanatyam, garba, contemporary, salsa, Sufi dance, natuvanga, meditation and also competitions were held to encourage young aspirants.

On Sunday the Jathre opened to the drum beating of Bhandara (Sri Lanka), Mohiniattam by Sunanda Nair (USA) of Sruthilaya Institute, gave the festival a dignified start. The Mukhachalam was refreshing and pleasing with beautiful adavus. In the pada “Kubja” (Yadukula Kambodi) Sundanda’s abhinaya, was matured and impactfully performed. Sunanda Nair concluded with Jeeva and astapadi (Chandana Charchitha), with a group of her talented disciples.

Five elements
The Shambhavi School of Dance, under the direction of Vyjayanthi Kashi presented a group dance dance on “Panchabhuta.” The five elements (earth, sky, water, air and fire) wre projected through verses and with support of melodious music (Chandana Bala). It was a compact programme, where youngsters also danced with abandon.

Aesthetic fusion
Senior dancer Vasundhara Doraswamy chose “Surya Namaskar” to perform along with her few selected students. Blending yoga and Bharatanatyam intelligently and aesthetically, they performed with practiced ease.

The “Surya Ratha” movement attracted everyone. The dance jathre was held in collaboration with the South Central Cultural Zone Centre, Nagpur.

Tributes to masters
Nupura paid tributes to three great masters of dance - Muguru Jejamma, Dr K Venkatalakshmama and H R Keshava Murthy at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan. Six senior students of the Nupura choreographed and performed few new Kannada compositions (of Balasubramanya Sharma and G Gurumurthy). The pushpanjali (Andolika) was followed by a shabda in ragamalika.

The varna (ragamalika) “Neelamegha Shyama” was on Krishna, with a special reference to his music (flute). The two compositions - “Chilipili” and “Ye Ra” - provided ample scope for abhinaya. After the thillana (jog), they concluded with a sloka from the Krishna Karnamritha. Senior students Bharathi Vitta, Chitra Aravind, Deepthy Aravind, Prabha Kini, Srividya Krishna and Suma Krishnamurthy - performed with ease and confidence.
 This choreography may become much more matured and impactful with more experience.
From the wings - Balasubramanya Sharma (vocal), Gurumurthy (mridanga), Narasimha Murthy (flute) and Madhusudhan (violin) gave good support.

Compact programme
The Malleswaram Arya Vysya Sangha had organised a cultural and religious festival on the occasion of the “Amritha Mahotsava.” Sriram Prasad and Ravikumar, popularly known as Malladi Brothers gave a vocal duet in the festival, on Friday evening. It was a compact programme. They were accompanied by S Seshagiri Rao on violin, C Cheluvaraj on mridanga, Vyasa Vittala on Khanjari, Sukanya Ramgopal on ghata and B Rajashekhar on morching.

“Vathapi Ganapathim Bhaje”, the popular invocatory piece gave them a bright start. The swara was crisp and attractive. A chain of grand composition followed. “Pahimam Shree” caught the attention with Chitteswara. “Seethamma, Mayamma” evoked nostalgic memories in old timers. Malladi Brothers had composed a special pallavi”Palinchu Bangaru Kamakshee Vasavi”, which suited the occasion. Their methodical approach reached its acme in the thana and the ragamalika swara enhancing its impact. They presented the devotionals “Yare Rangana” and “Nayanathe” with good feeling.