Rama Vaidyanathan explores the myriad facets of Sringara rasa

When love becomes the focal point of a dance performance, the experience is sublime. That was the feeling Rama Vaidyanathan’s performance on the inaugural day of the Music Academy dance festival evoked among the audience.

Senior Bharatanatyam dancer Rama Vaidyanathan during her performance on the inaugural day of The Music Academy’s dance festival.
| Photo Credit:
K. Pichumani

Three compositions were chosen to explore the idea of love in its varied facets. The first was the love of anticipation and disappointment, the second of surrender and devotion, and the third of passion and yearning. Shabdam, a composition that blends simple korvais and abhinaya, has become a rarity in the Bharatanatyam repertoire these days. Rama chose to perform a ragamalika shabdam by Thanjavur Arunachala Pillai as the opening number. A heroine confesses to her confidante her deep love for the lord of Chidambaram, and her doubts if he would reciprocate her feelings. Rama layered it with an imaginative expansion of ideas, elevating a simple conversation to something poetic.

The varnam, a composition of M. Balamuralikrishna in raga Thodi, explored a different facet of love towards the universal mother Devi, the benevolent benefactor who alleviates the fears and sorrows of her devotee.

Rama Vaidyanathan depicted creatively imagined moments through impeccable sancharis. 
| Photo Credit:
K. Pichumani

What enhanced this presentation was how attuned the dancer was to the music. As Raghavendra Prasad played the flute, she came up with myriad postures to create a visual imagery of the same. The vibrant jathis composed by Sumodh Sridharan and rendered by Sridhar Vasudevan with finesse, the beautiful swara passages sung with rich musical intonations by Vishwesh Swaminathan formed a seamless tapestry of music and movement.

At the end of the pallavi, anupallavi and charanam, creatively imagined moments were depicted through impeccable sancharis that brought out the bond between a devotee and the goddess in a captivating manner.

The orchestra’s nuanced accompaniment enhanced the overall appeal of Rama Vaidyanathan’s performance.
| Photo Credit:
K. Pichumani

Taking verses from Kalidasa’s ’Ritusamharam‘, Rama depicted the anguish of separated lovers. The piece revolved around the mango tree, with every emotion of the hero and heroine beautifully linked to different imageries of Nature, including birds, clouds, flowers and the Sun. Soorya Rao’s lighting was the highlight here.

Rama’s performance was a testimony to how the repertoire can be reinterpreted to accommodate new expressions and ideas.