A divine performance with inexplicable energy

 

Characterisation at its very best.

It was indeed an inexplicable experience to watch the ever so perfect senior and popular Male dancer Sathyanarayana Raju at a performance that was the closing program at Rajarajeshwari Nagar Rama Navami celebrations.

He began with Jaya Janaki Ramana and from the very beginning itself Sathyanarayana Raju set the tone with a divinity and dignity. I have seen him perform the Varnam Sri Krishna Kamala natho many times but today was a totally different experience altogether. The first tri-kala jathi and the ensuing jathis exhibited his prowess in nritta. A connoisseurs ultimate dream is see a dancer perform in perfect Arai mandi, stances and postures perfect to the ‘t’ and jathis performed with such exuberance that makes you sit at the edge of your seat. Sathya’s performance today was like a dream come true for me. Whether it was the jathis or the Abhinaya and sanchari Abhinaya sathya excelled. His delineation of Poothana vadham was unimaginable. The characterisation of Poothana, her beautification process exhibited a wonderful sense of humour that left the audiences in splits. He concluded the Varnam with the Arjuna / Krishna Bhagvad Geeta episode that was a fantastic visual display of histrionics yet keeping the subtle style of the Pandanallur school of Bharata Natyam taught to him by Guru Narmada undiluted.

The next was a composition of Purandaradasa in praise of Hanuman. Sathya brought to life the devoutness of this great rama bhakta. The very appropriate characterisation of anjaneya, his innocence and sincere dedication to The Lord came across adeptly in Sathyas performance. The high light of the piece was the ability of sathya to remain in character through the composition. The ‘hanuman posture with bent knees and the jumpy stride” remained intact and sathya demonstrated this with conviction. An very interesting inclusion of special lyrics ” yethake samshaya Sita ” made the story telling more meaningful and interesting.

Sathya’s maturity as a dancer has reached an optimal level. It’s a shining example for students of dance to watch and imbibe from his performance.

His accompanists Deepti Srinath on vocal, Shakuntala Raghavendra on nattuvangam, Lingaraju on mridangam and Venugopal on flute contributed hugely to the success of Sathyas recital.

 I would have missed a truly wonderful performance if I had not gone, I am glad I did and experienced this totally divine performance.