By Dr. Rama V. Bennur

The legacy of the Tanjore Quartets (Chinniah, Ponniah, Sivanandam and Vadivelu — early 19th century) who were exponents of Dance and Music is immense and unmatched. They have laid a firm foundation for dance (apart from composing and creating many songs for dance), which later on came to be known as Bharatanatyam. ‘Angashuddha’, perfect adavus, dignity and beauty in every movement or posture, pristine purity and high-level marks the Tanjore style. Kittappa Pillai and Muthappa Pillai were among their disciples.

Vidu. Lalitha Dorai learnt from these two great teachers and strived to keep the purity. Our own Vidu. Nandini Eswar is a disciple of Lalitha Dorai. She paid rich tributes to her Guru by presenting only the items composed by her Guru in 1950s in Tanjore style. One could clearly see the changes in today’s dance form in almost all aspects. Nandini Eswar adheres strictly to tradition and shuns glamour. This is evident in their attire, make up and overall presentation. This helps the spectators too to concentrate on dance. This programme, in memory of Saraswathamma, was arranged on the 26th of February at Veene Seshanna Bhavana.

Four disciples of Nandini and Rohitha Eswar — Chinmayee Bharadwaj, Nityasri Shetty, Shreekripa and Mridula Hamsini — presented the dance items perfectly and stole the show. Natuvanga by Dr. Rohitha Eswar, vocal by Vidu. akshmi, mridanga by Vid. H.L. Shivashankaraswamy and violin by Vid. Tandavamurthy supported the young dancers. 

The order of the items presented too followed the pattern set by the Tanjore Brothers. Alaripu, Jathiswara, Keerthane, Padavarna, Padam, Javali and a Thillana were neatly presented by the four dancers. About 15-20 years ago, the duration of rendering a Padavarna,  used to be not less than an hour. Now a days, it is seen being completed in 20 or 25 minutes. 

It was heartening to see Nityasri Shetty and Chinmayee Bharadwaj display their stamina and profound abhinaya in rendering the pada varna – ‘Sakhiye inda jaalam’ – Todi-Ponnayya Pillai for more than 45 minutes! The Alaripu and the Jathiswara (composed by Swathi Tirunal in Ragamalike) were in Mishra Chapu taala which again was a tough choice. 

The Padam, in Kambodhi Raga, was composed by Ghanam Krishna Iyer; displayed Madhura Bhakthi and had ample of opportunity to unfold the abhinaya skill. Chinmayee utilised the vilamba kala to explore her matured abhinaya. The expressions of a ‘Virahotkanthita Nayika’ asking her ‘sakhi’ to bring her beloved Lord Subramanya was rendered in a subtle and delicate manner. 

The Keerthana ‘Kaalai thooki nindrai’ (Yadukula Kambothi-Maari Muthu Pillai) dealt with the Nataraja of Ponnambala and was ably presented by Shreekripa. Nityasri did justice to the Javali ‘Sakhipraana’ (Jinjhoti-Dharmapuri Subbaraya) and Shreekripa and Mridula Hamsini’s  Tillana in Kanada brought the curtains down. On the whole, this dance programme carried a nostalgic flavour. 

Moonlight Music

The ‘Moonlight Music’ on the 27th of February at the Suttur Mutt at the foot of Chamundi Hill was by young vocalist Vid. Vivek Sadasivam. 

He was accompanied by Vid. Keshav Mohankumar on violin, Vid. G.S. Ramanujam on mridanga and Vid. Shamit S. Gowda on ghata respectively. 

Vivek Sadashivam is a very promising young vocalist who is blessed with an attractive voice and good manodharma. He has been groomed by gifted teachers who have made him an excellent and confident singer. His selection of the krutis for the concert too was appropriate. 

Vivek started the concert with a keertana in praise of Lord Shiva ‘Parvathipathim’ (Hamsadhwani-Muthuswami Dikshita) and embellished it with a frill of crisp kalpana swaras. He had chosen to sing a number of Vachanas, all wrapped in classical tunes. His clear enunciation, open throated singing and soulful rendering added to it. Basavanna’s ‘Jagava suttirpudu ninna maaye’ (Valachi), ‘Aavaava bhavadali’, ‘Dayavillada Dharma’, Akka Mahadevi’s ‘Bettada melondu’ and a song by Nijaguna Shivayogi ‘Jyothi belaguthide’ in Jyothiswaroopini were all dipped in pure classicism. His elaboration of Jyothiswaroopini and Ghorak kalyan were filled with raga bhava and brought out  the artistic ability in him.

Tyagaraja’s ‘Shobhillu saptha-swara’ (Jaganmohini) was adorned with a lively chitteswara  and the prelude to ‘Shambho mahadeva’ (Panthuvarali) had a fresh approach to the raga. Every phrase was classic and enjoyable. A neraval at ‘Shambho Mahadeva sharanagatha jana rakshaka’ was followed by a lively kalpana swaras. Young Keshava Mohan’s melodious bowing enhanced the musical experience. Experienced Laya Vidwan G.S. Ramanujam’s strokes matched every song. 

His encouragement to the young ghata player Vid. Shamit Gowda was appreciable. The concert concluded by ‘Chandrashekhara Esha’ (Sindhubhairavi) by Anai Vaidyanatha Iyer. It was undoubtedly an excellent and a memorable concert.