Deepa Srinath from USA gave a Bharatanatyam performance at Mysore Vasudevacharya Bhavana in Mysuru on July 27 under the aegis of Raaga Vaibhava Charitable Trust, Mysuru.

Deepa is well-trained in Bharatanatyam. Her experience as a stage artiste since 24 years has taken her to where she is today.  She has also trained several students at Boston, USA.

Deepa’s brilliant and creative performance on the day proved her as a matured dancer and that she has absorbed the art form in a holistic manner. Deepa had named the performance as ‘Toyaja’ meaning born in water. Lotus is usually compared to face — face as fresh as lotus; or eyes — ‘RAjeevalOchana,’ one with the eyes of a lotus,  ‘Kesarina Kamala,’ a lotus like heart standing for purity, divinity, knowledge, fertility, etc. The entire performance circled around this concept ‘lotus.’

The first of the performances was ‘pAda pankaja’ — The sacred lotus feet of the Lord. It began with an obeisance to Lord Surya who is ‘SaptAshvaroodha’, the Lord who rides seven horses. The first entry was by the four girls whose performance was rather disappointing but Deepa made her grand entry at the end of this item depicting the lotus flowering with the sunrise.

The next three items were all by her students which was cheerless. While Deepa’s effort in training them in a foreign country is highly appreciative, showcasing them in a performance of a reputed Sabha in Mysuru is rather early and disheartening.

While the audience (the hall was almost full) had gathered to watch Deepa’s performance, the performance of these young girls, which requires much more grooming, built an impatient air in the viewers.

Deepa’s concept, which was excellent, continued with the second item describing Ganapati sitting on the lotus, the third composition by Muttuswami Deekshitar, the popular ‘KanjadalAyatAkshi kAmAkshi’ in a rare raga Kamalamanohari, wherein Lakshmi, who is so closely associated with the lotus, is seen sitting on the lotus, her beautiful eyes are like the petals of a lotus. She is seen walking a gentle and majestic walk, her feet studded with gems. Her face is radiant and lustrous like the full moon… She is the one who blesses her devotees with prosperity and wealth.

The centre piece of the evening, the varnam, was thankfully taken up by Deepa. The varnam in Behag, beautifully sung by Rajeev Rajagopalan, with Deepa’s excellent abhinaya was satisfactory. Here again, the concept of lotus was brought in. Unlike other pada varnam chosen by dancers for performance, this is a tana varnam by Prof. T.R. Subramanyam set to Adi tAlam.

The varnam began traditionally with the charana ‘SATi nee mAra kOTi sundara,’ later leading to the pallavi ‘VanajAksha’, ‘Oh Lotus eyed one!’ Charming Krishna is described delightfully in this magnificent varna and Deepa expanded the episodes of Ahalya from Ramayana (lifting of her curse by RAma), the episode of KAlinga and Krishna’s dance, the VAmanAvatar from the Dashavatara, wherein the dancer appeals to The Lord,  ‘Wont these feet come to me?’ in her abhinaya. The picturesque poses, like the uplifted hand offering protection, the hooded serpent and Krishna dancing on it, VAmana placing his feet and asking Bali where he should place the third, were all depicted with artistic and innate grace and electrifying jathis. The next item, also by Deepa, was a Devi composition — the popular ‘Ranjani mAla by Thanjavur Sankara Iyer. This enchanting composition with Ranjani, Sriranjani, Megharanjani and Janaranjani depicted Devi from the eyes of Lord Shiva.

Interestingly, a well-known episode from the story of Kalidasa where Dindima Kavi challenges the poets in the court was chosen with ‘Kamale Kamalotpattih’ connecting it with the concept of the evening, Kamala (lotus). The concluding piece was a Lalgudi thillana in Desh.

Deepa’s costume was aesthetic and graceful and the way she ensured that she made use of the entire stage was commendable. Throughout the performance, the response from the audience was quite rapturous.

The accompanying artistes, who contributed to the melodious singing that enhanced the dance recital, were Rakesh Sudhir on flute, Shashishankar on mridanga and T.S. Sharath on natuvanga.

—Dr. Padmavathi Narasimhan