When you dance with your soul, the feet attune to that harmonious blend of perfection and professionalism. This could be seen in the performance of a teenager of Modern School at India International Center during her Arangetram. By Firoz Bakht Ahmed
If you love to dance, Bharatanatyam is the in thing, she believes. Adorned with temple jewellery, ankle bells, vivid colored silks and alta, this was the most important evening of lavanya’s life, a 11th grader is it was her first public performance at the India International Center stage from where Rukmini Devi, Mrinalini Sarabai, Yamini Krishnamurti, Sonal Mansingh and Yamini Reddy, besides others have excelled as well.
It was a total houseful even much before the show began in the spacious IIC hall. Guests were welcomed with traditional greetings, sweets, fragrant silver coated cardamoms and tilak at an evening of a world class Arangetram performance.After an intensive training of 11 years, lavanya's gurus - Jamuna Krishnan and Ragini, decided that their student was ready for the Arangetram, or “ascension to the stage”, to make her public impacting debut as an accomplished Bharatanatyam performer. The Arangetram is usually performed before an audience of family and friends who do not judge the student too harshly for any mistakes made in their first public performance, but is still intended as a platform for criticism of both the student and the guru in the interest of developing artistic excellence.
For witnessing lavanya's performance, her friends and relatives came from the US, UK, Canada and almost all over India. lavanya though only 16, prepared for her debut public performance, with a commitment not taken lightly by Sonal and Girish, her parents and the perfectly gelled mother and daughter duo of Jamuna Krishnan and Ragini Chandrashekhar. The long painstaking training schedule included extra lessons several times a week, and an intensive training period over the mid-year break from her school.
An ace debater and winner of five best academic awards in school, lavanya has also been training in the Hindustani Classical Music for the past eleven years. In her Bhataynatyam Arangetram, she exuded with flawless expertise and ease, a heartwarming performance like a dancing queen.All the Bharatnatyam ingredients of Pushpanjali, Jatiswaram, Varnam and Alarippu were immaculately brought out by lavanya in a manner most professional. Though with the highest of regards for them, she doesn't like being compared to any of the greatest Bharatnatyam exponents as she believes that all dancers develop their own personal style - and she possesses her own.
The original elements of Hindu mythology, history, drama and aesthetics that is, bhava (expression), raga (melody) and tala) were a treat to watch in the ebulliant of lavanya in the entire performance as part of her elegant moves from hands and feet to the minutest of nerves.
No journey to excellence is complete without ones Gurus. When asked, lavanya stated that all credit goes to both her Gurus, Jamuna Krishnanji and Ragini Chandrashekhar - the mother and daughter duo, most highly revered owing to their amazing competence in the world of Indian classical dance.
Though a maestro like Jamuna excels beyond the mortal realms of awards and achievements, however, she is a winner of the most coveted Sahitya Kala Parishad, Natya Ratna and Sangeet Natak Akademi Puraskarbesides others in India and abroad. At present, globally, she comes across as the best Bharatnatyam trainer with her students from all over the world.
The Jamuna-Ragini rendition of the vocal Nattuvangam gelled so well that they sang on two separate mikes but the loudspeaker released just one voice! The Wizard on the flute was, G Raghuraman while the magic on Mridangam was rendered by MV Chandra Shekhar.
In her heart- warming speech, Sonal, mother of the talented dancer said “lavanya's aim in life is not to dance better than others but to dance better than herself”. However, the reward was instant, right after her Arangetram as lavanya was approached by an exponent of Bharatnatyam who invited her to dance at the Khajuraho Dance Festival.