Aargau played host to the recently concluded Nartana Priya Dance Festival. The dance wing of Natya Chittra, an initiative of Dr. Pranitha Kamat, a Bharatanatyam artiste and Biomedical scientist based in Zurich, the Nartana Priya dance festival showcased an afternoon of exclusive, uninterrupted classical dance. This year, the festival brought in a curator from Geneva in the form of senior dancer, founder of Omkara Dance School Geneva and Bharatanatyam Guru Smt. Sujatha Venkatesh of the Pandanallur Bani.
Together, Dr. Pranitha and Guru Sujatha Venkatesh showcased the choreographies of the masters of the Pandanallur Bani (Sujathaji’s gurus), Shri. U.S.Krishnarao and Smt. Chandrabhaga Devi as an apt homage. The presentation brought in eight dancers of different Bharatanatyam Banis who learnt and performed these choreographies.
Banis in Bharatanatyam are like the Gharanas of Hindustani music. There are some elements of Bharatanatyam specific to each Bani/ style. Though some of these are small differences, they stand out very clearly when watching a performance. Teaching Pandanallur Bani choreographies to a set of dancers who are from other Banis is a very novel attempt, given that the dancers are typically used to one specific Bani all their lives. As a practitioner of the Pandanallur Bani myself this presentation was very interesting to me – both as a concept and for the beautiful choreographies presented.
The pre-show presentation had young students from the different dance schools present the different Banis and their differences in an apero setting. It was very well done. The performance then shifted to the auditorium and started with a Ganesha shloka choreographed by Dr. Pranitha. This was the only choreography by her, with everything else being the choreographies of the Pandanallur masters.
This was followed by the Sankeerna Eka tala Alaripu. As a performer from the Kalakshetra Bani, Pranitha says getting used to the tilt of the body in the Pandanallur style took time. The Rudra and Durga stotram followed the Alaripu. The piece had lyrics drawn from the Rig Veda and Devi Stuti. The masters – Shri. U.S. Krishnarao and Smt. Chandrabhaga Devi were inspired by their visit to the Mangeshi temple and the Shanta Durga temple in Goa and came up with this choreography, which used to be performed by their senior students in the 80s.
This was followed by the Gokulambudi Chandra Sundara Shabdam, a composition of Guru Shri. Ponniah Pillai and the surprise in the package ‘Natanam Adinar’, choreographed by the doyen of Pandanallur Bani, Shri. Meenakshi Sundaram Pillai himself. The striking feature of the piece is how simple the choreography is with simple jathis. The simplest choreographies are however, the most difficult to execute. In a world where excess is the norm and dancers on TV shows or stage shows tend to go overboard to impress, this choreography stands out like a breath of fresh air. Its execution is what makes it special. “I tried to find my connection to the presentations through
practice, I started to see a path where the nritta allowed me to connect to the bhava of the song”, says Pranitha.
Then came my favourite dance piece of the afternoon, Shringara lahari. The choreography simply focused on clean lines – an important aspect of the Pandanallur Bani. The other thing it had in plenty was sculpturesque poses. There was a lesson in it for dancers and choreographers alike – one aspect is enough to dominate an entire choreography, make the piece stand out and underline a dance style. Guru Sujatha Venkatesh has fond memories of this number. “Only the senior students performed this item in those days. It has the most stunning sculptural poses, and the challenge was that we had to stay in the pose for a while as the song is at a slow pace.
The last number for the afternoon was a Thillana in Poornachandrika. The choreography highlighted another Pandanallur Bani speciality – the ‘kuluku nadai’ in all its glory. Embellished with formations and movements spread across the stage, this Thillana brought alive the rhythm and was a perfect closing number.
Guru Sujatha Venkatesh had performed this Thillana as a part of her Arangetram in 1987 and had a very interesting story to share. “I remember very vividly the spotlights catching fire towards the end. I was made to dance this Thillana in third speed so that I could finish before one of the lights could fall down”, she says.
Attempting to learn choreographies of a different Bani, focusing on the specifics of the Bani and attempting to do justice is very commendable. On that note, kudos to all eight dancers who presented these choreographies of the masters in this edition of Nartana Priya.
What next, I ask them and Guru Sujatha Venkatesh’s immediate response is “Mahamaya, a project that will create a library of the master’s work, be it their choreographies or book publications and creating recorded music of the choreographies”. A fitting tribute indeed!
Pranitha is all excited about her plans for the future editions of Nartana Priya “In my early years as a student of dance, I would look up in awe at Sabhas and similar platforms and wish that someday I would be good enough to perform under that banner. Now, I wish that Nartana Priya will become that platform for students of Switzerland”.
Here’s wishing Nartana Priya, its founder and curator, the very best for their ventures.
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