Good posture, precise movements
RUPA SRIKANTH
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Shirisha Shashank captured with sensitivity, the awe and majesty of the devotee's moment.
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CONFIDENT: Shirisha Shashank.
If proficiency in movement and mime were adequate for a Bharatanatyam presentation, Shirisha Shashank would rate very high on the performance graph. Because good posture, precise movements and dignified bearing are impressive attributes for any dancer.
There is also a remarkable self-confidence that completes the cumulative picture of expertise. But Bharatanatyam as a dance style requires more.
Particularly from a mature practitioner, it requires an engagement from within, where humility takes centre stage.
Disappointing
While each department was handled with a good level of competency, it is the unified whole that disappointed; somewhat like the missing piece in a jigsaw puzzle. Papanasam Sivan's Nattakurinji varnam in Adi talam, "Sami Naan Undan Adimai" conveyed the composer's intense devotion to Lord Nataraja.
Buoyed by S. Rajeswari's marvellous music and pronunciation, the authority of A. S. Murali 's nattuvangam and G. Gurumurthy's precision on the mridangam, the varnam was presented with a skilful hand.
The teermanams were well-executed and well-finished. If anything, there was the tendency towards overdoing the stances within the movements. Piety dominated the expressional passages and the devotee's total surrender was delineated with restraint.
The `darshanam' of the Siva tandava was one of the high points of the varnam, where Shirisha captured with sensitivity the awe and majesty of the moment.
Purandaradasa's "Jagadodharana" was treated with the same expertise. Mother and child at play was an enjoyable interlude of uninhibited role-play. The dancer has an admirable control over the performance space, but there was this nagging sense of self that could not be shaken off.
All it did was undermine the hard work and sincerity. It also relegated the programme from an experience into a performance.
Shirisha concluded with a tillana of Dr. Balamuralikrishnain in Brindavani ragam, Adi talam. Srinivasan, violin, who joined the orchestra post-varnam, was a tuneful accompanist to the singer who managed excellently without one for the most part.
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Bangalore
Chennai and Tamil Nadu
Delhi
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Thiruvananthapuram
