<p>Dignified expression<br /></p>.<p>The Indian Council for Cultural Relations and the National Gallery of Modern Art, presented a Bharathanatya thematic dance recital by Rajashree Warrier on Saturday. <br />It was a choreographic adaptation of the Malayalam play ‘Lanka Lakshmi’ (by C N Sreekantan Nair), in which the dancer tried to visualise a few pivotal moments of Ravana’s life. It opens with the entrance of Hanuman to Lanka, followed by Ravana narrating the cause of his confrontation with Rama. Interesting episodes of Ramayana like Surpanaka Vadha, abduction of Seetha, Kumbhakarna, confrontation with Vibhishana, consolation by Mandodari, death of Indrajith and Ravana preparing for the final battle were enacted with ease and grace. <br /><br />Dramatising the episodes aesthetically in the solo presentation of Bharathanatya, she brought to light varied faces of Ravana as a father, husband, brother and a devotee, highlighting love and lust, doubts and fears, anger and vengeance and the battle between good and evil within every human mind leading to clashes. She portrayed the different characters with beautiful facial expressions and the abhinaya was impactful. She got good support from the wings by a band of experienced musicians - Raju Narayanan (vocal) Neelambar Suresh (natuvanga), Srikanth Tripunitara (mridanga), Ajith (violin) Soundararajan (veena).<br /><br />In total Rajashree Warrier’s Lanka Lekshmi impressed with good expression, beautiful and dignified Abhinaya.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Soulful veena<br />Sri Rama Lalithakala Mandira celebrated the Veena Seshanna’s day with a fine recital of Veena by A Ashwin, a student of Prof H V Krishnamurthy now guided by R Vedavalli. Ashwin presented five compositions of Seshanna. Kambodhi Jathiswara gave Ashwin a bright start. It is a well knit composition with nine charanas. Somehow he skipped the varna and presented two Keerthanas of Seshanna. First, ‘Sripathe’ in the raga Ganamurthe, with simple tune, was followed by ‘Intha Shodhana’. <br />The Rishabhapriya raga embellished with evocative phrases was the highlight of the enjoyable recital. <br /><br />The alapana was further enriched by brisk Thana. Before winding up the concert he chose two popular thillanas of ‘Vainika Shikhamani’. While Behag Thillana is a quite familiar, the jinjoti Thillana will be a fitting finale to any veena concert. Lone percussionist Tumkur Ravishankar supported with good understanding.<br /><br />Ensemble in unison<br />Neela Ramgopal, senior vocalist conducted a workshop in compositions of Veena Seshanna. <br /><br />Participants of the workshop presented eight compositions. Kamach Jathiswara and varna in Saveri – were suitable to begin with. They chose Keerthanas in the ragas Ganamurthe (Sripathe), Dharmavathi (Tharamugadura), Anandabhairavi (Rama Ninnu) and Gamanashrama (Ubhaya Kaveri Ranga). They concluded with the Jinjoti Thillana, rendered in unison. <br /><br />Prema Vivek on violin and Sudarshan Chakravarthi on mridanga accompanied the ensemble.<br /></p>
<p>Dignified expression<br /></p>.<p>The Indian Council for Cultural Relations and the National Gallery of Modern Art, presented a Bharathanatya thematic dance recital by Rajashree Warrier on Saturday. <br />It was a choreographic adaptation of the Malayalam play ‘Lanka Lakshmi’ (by C N Sreekantan Nair), in which the dancer tried to visualise a few pivotal moments of Ravana’s life. It opens with the entrance of Hanuman to Lanka, followed by Ravana narrating the cause of his confrontation with Rama. Interesting episodes of Ramayana like Surpanaka Vadha, abduction of Seetha, Kumbhakarna, confrontation with Vibhishana, consolation by Mandodari, death of Indrajith and Ravana preparing for the final battle were enacted with ease and grace. <br /><br />Dramatising the episodes aesthetically in the solo presentation of Bharathanatya, she brought to light varied faces of Ravana as a father, husband, brother and a devotee, highlighting love and lust, doubts and fears, anger and vengeance and the battle between good and evil within every human mind leading to clashes. She portrayed the different characters with beautiful facial expressions and the abhinaya was impactful. She got good support from the wings by a band of experienced musicians - Raju Narayanan (vocal) Neelambar Suresh (natuvanga), Srikanth Tripunitara (mridanga), Ajith (violin) Soundararajan (veena).<br /><br />In total Rajashree Warrier’s Lanka Lekshmi impressed with good expression, beautiful and dignified Abhinaya.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Soulful veena<br />Sri Rama Lalithakala Mandira celebrated the Veena Seshanna’s day with a fine recital of Veena by A Ashwin, a student of Prof H V Krishnamurthy now guided by R Vedavalli. Ashwin presented five compositions of Seshanna. Kambodhi Jathiswara gave Ashwin a bright start. It is a well knit composition with nine charanas. Somehow he skipped the varna and presented two Keerthanas of Seshanna. First, ‘Sripathe’ in the raga Ganamurthe, with simple tune, was followed by ‘Intha Shodhana’. <br />The Rishabhapriya raga embellished with evocative phrases was the highlight of the enjoyable recital. <br /><br />The alapana was further enriched by brisk Thana. Before winding up the concert he chose two popular thillanas of ‘Vainika Shikhamani’. While Behag Thillana is a quite familiar, the jinjoti Thillana will be a fitting finale to any veena concert. Lone percussionist Tumkur Ravishankar supported with good understanding.<br /><br />Ensemble in unison<br />Neela Ramgopal, senior vocalist conducted a workshop in compositions of Veena Seshanna. <br /><br />Participants of the workshop presented eight compositions. Kamach Jathiswara and varna in Saveri – were suitable to begin with. They chose Keerthanas in the ragas Ganamurthe (Sripathe), Dharmavathi (Tharamugadura), Anandabhairavi (Rama Ninnu) and Gamanashrama (Ubhaya Kaveri Ranga). They concluded with the Jinjoti Thillana, rendered in unison. <br /><br />Prema Vivek on violin and Sudarshan Chakravarthi on mridanga accompanied the ensemble.<br /></p>
