Arushi Mudgal and Ragini Chander Shekhar recently performed pieces mentored by leela Samson and Sadanan Balakrishnan at the Gandharva Mahavidyalaya. Utpal K Banerjee reports
When Gandharva Mahavidyalaya (GMV) decided to select young dance-talents of today and connect them to senior exponents of another style as mentors, what could one expectIJ A lot of hard work was involved in deciding on the choice of mentor: in terms of his/her interest and familiarity with the other form chosen, obviously with compassion and catholicity at their core.
Says the celebrated Bharatanatyam guru leela Samson, one of the nominated mentors and known better for her association with the Odissi exponent Madhavi Mudgal, “I was composing a Bharatanatyam varnam for my students in Chennai when the request came. The selected talent Arushi Mudgal of Odissi genre in my case, came over to spend a month, to watch my creative process and imbibe whatever she could. She was accompanied by her gifted musician-sister, Saoni and the two were intelligent enough to go to the roots of all given suggestions. They assessed and assimilate anything only after they’ve found the same feasible and beneficial. If Arushi picked up the varnam by virtually making her own choreography for it, Saoni absorbed the original Carnatic song: with all its nuances and cadences”.
The result has been exhilarating. Already known for her technical virtuosity and creative approach towards tradition, Arushi opened the evening with an abstract piece, Murt Amurt, with amazing serenity and sagacity, to conceive both the form and the formless. Coming next, her traditional Oriya song: Kharapa tu hela re… was a Kelucharan Mohapatra composition that was exactly the opposite: facile and virile touching every corner of the open stage. Yet the magnum opus was her varnam to an Andaal composition: Atikola vendum, where the saint princess expresses her all-consuming love for lord Krishna and exchanges her garlands for Krishna in the temple.
Clarifies Arushi, vis-a-vis her mentor’s comment, “It’s not really my choreography but a fresh choreography-sequence, evolved hand-in-hand with a Bharatanatyam disciple of leelaji’s. I’ve used thatta-mattu footwork of Bharatanatyam; distinctive abhinaya for each line as per the classic dance form dictum for sanchari, but only Odissi bhangis, such as, bhramar, chari and so on, as per Odissi’s canons”. On continued benefits form leela’s mentoring, she beams, “leelaji has always been my benefactor. I’ve been to her in the past as my mentor and I’d continue to go to in future too.”
Ragini Chander Shekhar, a Bharatanatyam danseus took the stage next. Widely known for combining grace, talent and creativity, Ragini began with a traditional todaya mangalam, a staple invocation for Bharatanatyam performances, describing many manifestations of lord Vishnu.
Next was her choreographer mother Jamuna Krishnan’s composition to the Vaishnava poet Vidyapati’s pada: Kothina bedana mohi deli Madana…, when cupid mistakes the young Radha as Shiva, probably because both are endearingly called “bama.” After her Kathakali piece, Ragini concluded with a new nritya abharana: pure dance-sequences.
But the trouble lay in her mentored, major piece of Kathakali. For this, she had adopted a scene from Kalyana Saugandhika by Kottayam Tamburam. Donning a make-belief Kathakali costume and without the mandatory make-up and adornments, she adopted Kathakali hasta mudras (hand gestures) in her kalasams (pure dance), yet the attempted abhinaya in Bheema’s role in the nritya (interpretative dance) segment fell far below the perfection needed. It was, no doubt, a brave attempt.
Defends Ragini, “I selected a masculine character like Bheema, as distinct from the usual femininity in Bharatanatyam. As my mentor, Sadanan Balakrishnan desired for authenticity as much as possible, I practised the new hasta mudras and stances for two months. I value the inputs I got and look forward to new learning in the form.” The mentor Balakrishnan from Kerala clarifies, “Ragini spent only a few days with me and took a video of my composition from Saugandhika for practice. I could not see the finished product of hers.” No wonder, there was a mismatch in quality and authenticity!