A REVIEW
By Leela Venkatraman From Rupa Srikanth, dance critic, The Hindu
NARTHAKI, Feb 10, 2023
https://narthaki.com/info/taalam/taalam159.html
A RESPONSE
From Rupa Srikanth, dance critic, The Hindu
This is a startling concept- what does a composer think of while creating? The visual picture of the gods, nature… For the great composers of the past, we will never know. But for a genius who lived during our time, violin maestro Lalgudi Jayaraman, we have a window for some compositions – through the notes of a contemporary, a musician- journalist of The Hindu, Gowri Ramnarayan, acquired during multiple interviews with him.
Gowri not only unearthed her notes, but wrote a script and directed a Justus Repertory-produced visual musical, ‘The Magic Bow’. With Bharatanatyam as the base, Sheejith Krishna choreographed the visually-faithful pieces in a delightfully new way.
Would it be wrong to say that Gowri has spoilt us forever? The ‘Magic’ was ethereal. It had a star-studded cast – the music, with vocals by Nisha Rajagopalan, the violin accompaniment by the maestro Jayaraman’s disciple, Shreya Devnath, flute by Vishnu Vijay, while the percussion by Sheejith Krishna was sublime, as was the dancing by Anjana Anand and Sheejith; the dance visualisation was unconventional and certainly exciting.
Gowri shared the visual memory behind each composition through the evening with her customary enthusiasm. It is well- known that Jayaraman explored off beat ragas in his compositions. It is also well-known that his varnams and thillanas enriched the Bharatanatyam repertoire with their inbuilt rhythms and uncommon melodies.
‘The dissonant notes sent a warning signal,’ said Gowri, while explaining the visuals that Jayaraman imagined during the composing of the Rasikapriya jatiswaram in Rasikapriya, set in Adi tala. The boat with a pair of young lovers crash onto an unknown island. The vivid visualisation, mainly through the body language of angika abhinaya, painted dark clouds, rain and the capsizing boat. The slowly spun out pallavi with emphasis on the shatshruti daivatam, set the mood. The faster charanams captured the lovers struggling to get to the shore, their tender embrace, their sighting another vessel, and the final happy ending.
The padavarnam ‘Innam en manam’ using a gently rebuking tone in raga Charukesi, (Adi), is usually interpreted literally. ‘Do you behave as if you have not understood me? O Madhava? Is this a pre-planned act?’ Gowri preferred a spiritual interpretation- of humans getting lost in illusions, when god is in and around us and discernible in heightened moments of awareness. Finally the protagonist realises the truth (of her oneness with Krishna) and plays the flute as Krishna himself.
Sheejith’s visualisation was true to this vision. Krishna was beside the pining woman, all the time, teasing her and playing with her. But in a state of unknowing, her seeking continues. She feels his presence one moment; it’s gone in the next. The dramatisation was enhanced by the clever use of spot lighting creating a seemingly impenetrable circle that Krishna is in. The nritta was crisp, undistracting, as pauses within the melody.
The dance music was outstanding. As a concert vocalist, Nisha Rajagopalan is unused to singing neraval with constraints on her freedom, but her slow deliberate singing was beautiful. The mood music, washes over you completely in the dark, absorbing the senses. The whole experience was poetic.
Most endearing was the recreation of Vidwan Jayaraman’s childhood in the village of Lalgudi, the sights and sounds that stayed with him and inspired him all his life. A ragamalika ragam-tanam followed by Tyagaraja’s Lalgudi pancharatna kriti in Kambhoji, ‘Mahita pravriddha’. The instrumental music was beautifully planned, as the little boy enjoyed playing in the fields, surrounded by cows with bells on their neck and women workers with anklets on their feet. He goes into a temple and sits down to pray as the song is danced before the Goddess, Shrimati.
A thillana in raga Pahadi set in misra chapu talam, reminding the composer of the hills, and a Thirupugazh in raga Hamir Kalyani, completed the programme.
What a treat!