Chandigarh, October 27 : In a special event organized by Pracheen Kala Kendra here today, Bangalore based eminent Bharatnatyam danseuse Chitra Arvind, Artistic Director of Rhythmotion, Indian Classical & Contemporary Dance Company and a senior disciple of Lalitha Srinivasan, regaled the audience with her Solo Bharatnatyam recital. The programme took place at Bhaskar Rao Indoor Auditorium of the Kendra in Sector 35B.
Trained in Bharatnatyam, Kathak and Choreography, Chitra proved her mettle with perfect abhinaya and highly trained technique that she has learnt meticulously from her gurus. With fine control over movements, she used her lissome figure to bring out the aesthetic beauty of adavus composed with interesting permutation and combination of jathis.
The event began with a dance piece invoking the blessings of Lord Ganesha “Ganapati, Gananayaka, Vinayaka, Ganesha….”. The piece set to Raga Brindavana Saranga in Adi tala was a medley of Kathak and Bharatnatyam and was choreographed by Chitra herself.
Then came the Varnam “Nee Indha Mayam”, a traditional Bharatnatyam number comprising both Nritta (techniques) and Abhinaya (expressions) depicting a Virahotkanthita nayika who is pining for her beloved Lord Krishna. The piece was composed in Raga Dhanyasi set to Adi Tala.
Kshetreya Padam was Chitra’s next presentation which elucidated the abhinaya aspect (facial expressions) of Bharatanatyam. Here the Samanya nayika is commenting with jealousy about the Abhisarika nayika who as usual is on her way to meet Krishna. The piece was choreographed by Guru B. Bhanumati and was set to Raga Sahana in Misra Chhapu tala.
The abhinaya number Javali in Raga Behag set to Roopaka tala was followed by Devaranama and Tillana. This number was a composition of the Kannada saint poet Sri Purandara Dasa in Raga Malika and Tala Malika. It was in praise of Lord Narasimha, one of the Avatars of Vishnu. The programme concluded with a Tillana, a concluding nritta (technique) item choreographed by Guru Padmini Ravi. Chitra used her body evocatively for the postures she executed with high perfectness, combined with neat lines and striking geometry, looking like a beautifully carved sculpture. The performance was really amazing.
Kendra Registrar Smt. Shobha Koser honoured the artiste.