A picture of perfection

It's an enchanting debut performance at Bharathi Sriram's arrangetram

and presentation, whil e strictly adhering to the traditional format, c learly hallmarks of a mature artiste.

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BY \ USHAR. .~ ARVIND ...:~

Imroducing her niece and shis&J,a Bbarathi Sriram, Guru Hamsa Venkat noted that, like the graceful waves in the ocean, when the cmgam (physical self) ascends the ara11ga111 (stage) , every danseuse seeks to attain antara11ga111 (inner self).

Dem onstrating maturity, prowess and devotio n , Bharathi's ,11rcmgetrm11 (debut) at Gillian lvloore Auditorium marked a new pinnacle in her artistic journey, experiencing its many nuances in the pro cess.

"The journey has been phys ically and mentall y exhil arating and I encourage my peers to tmdertake it," she said.

" The bard work, commitment and passion cannot be encompassed in a better way than to perform in front o f a sea of audience

\Vhose eyes are focussed on you Leading up to the performance, I co Ltld not even d i fferentiate m y nervo u sness from excitement be.cause 1 was looking forward co it with so much joy and pleasure".

" Knowing that I was able. to dance a three - hour repertoire again and again without getting exhausted in the pre.ceding weeks, had just made me realise. how far l bad come from day one of m y lesson w ith my Guru when I was panting just after the Aila,ipul" she added.

Rather than mere ly showcasing technical maste r y, the subcle production focussed as much on thematic content as de livery

Bharathi looked a picture of perfection with her tasteful makeup and costume selection. The experience both for the artiste and her audience therefore was pure bliss

Saptha: The Po111er of Seven was the unifying the m e for the evening and Bharathi de.lved into all aspects of this ausp icious Hindu concept, laden wicl1 complex symbolism - from the seven colours of the rainbow; seven notes of m u sic , seven sacred matrimonial steps around cl1e fire, to the metaph ysical concepts of rebirth, selfrealisation and yogic power.

Exploring hmdalini and seve n chakms, or energy bubs, Bharathi's innovative. rendering of the Alaripp11 (the auspiciou s opening of every arra11getra1J1) set the tone for the evening. What followed was the visua l splendour of the jathis1JJam111 in raagam Ra1ga1rimaala with mus ic for the piece especially composed b y Sydney mus icologist Mohan Ayyar.

Bharathi chose to represent the vibrant colours of the rainbow through portrayal of Lord Indra's dh,11111sh, interspersing energetic movem ents with sculpturesque posnues.

The smry of Rama , th e seventh avatai·of Lord Vishnu, formed the centrepiece (vanwm) of the evening's performance as Bharathi lovingly portrayed the various moods of the powerful epic through the classi c Bhaai/C!)'ami Raghutvma,11. This demanding piece clearly showed off her technical master y, effectivelr rep rod ucing a range of em otions from arrogance of Ravana to Rama's humili ty, cl1e vile machinati ons of Ktmi to the utter humiliation of Soorpanakba, and the despondenc y of Sita's captivity to the boundless energy of Hanuman. Particularly captivating was the s111c91a11,vm'tl scene, evenmaJly reaching crescendo with pattabhi.shek.11111. The accompanying music prov ided the perfect backdrop. Sydney audiences have come ro expect nothing bur d1e best from Samskciti School of Dance. and the artistes delivered yet again o n high expectations Krishna Ramarathinam, debutante Devika Krishnamurthy and Hamsa Venkat transported the audience to the re al m of surreal with their vo cal renditions, as Balaji Jaganathan (vio lin) , i\fohan Ayyar (syncl1esiser) and PaUav arajan Nagen dran (mrudangam) provided expert instrumental support. Equally flawless was Bharnthi 's behind - the -scenes support team, with sound and lighting effects adding depth and dimens ion to the performance.

The saptha tha11da11t1111, a dedication to Nataraja, the