Gita Govindam in `ashtapadi'
RANEE KUMAR
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The penultimate lyric where Radha and Krishna are shown at love play was dealt with suggestive eye and body language.
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PHOTO: K. GAJENDRAN
RAAS LEELA The illustrative dance ballet.
Guru Hemamalini Arni has always been credited with innovative approach, authenticity and aesthetic choreography. The latest from her school — Gita Govindam (12th century poet Jayadeva's collection of lyrics ashtapadi), does not fall short of expectations.
The beautiful blend of Hindustani classical ragas to Bharatanatyam format was stirred so deftly and carefully that not one chord went out of tune. The ballet could not have been more perfect in choice of lyrics, time-limit and presentation. The illusion of a silvery moon as the sole backdrop created a suggestive mood of moonlit night and raasa leela sans loud innuendos.
As such, handling of a theme like the ashtapadi through a ballet requires a maturity that was more than evident in the sensitive handling of the most erotic lines neither bypassing the romantic strain nor bordering on vulgar display. The penultimate lyric where Radha (Sharmila Taneja) and Krishna (Neha Jhunjunwala) are shown at love play was dealt with suggestive eye and body language, artistic stances and optimum dash of eroticism. Only one ingredient was missing — the suggestive spirituality that is the arterial nerve of all ancient poetry on Krishna.
With everything so carefully crafted there still could be one vital flaw to suppress the ballet from reaching exalted heights, as all other ballets of Hemamalini Arni have been able to, so far. And that was lack of soul in the dancers themselves. With the exception of Madhu Swaminathan, Priya Premanand, Satvika Ranganathan and Sharmila Taneja, the others, especially all those who played the main role of Krishna, were not up to the mark.
While Madhu, as the sakhi (to Radhika) captivated the viewers with her ease and ιlan and a smile that never seemed to leave her eyes and face, Priya as the narrator was more than responsible to have taken the viewers along without losing the sequence with excellent mime and movements. Satvika's entry on stage as a smitten Radha was defined by a vivid series of jatis to which her lithe frame gave the precise impetus and her expressive face was suffused with emotions of jealousy, love and anger-all at the same time in the right quotient. Sharmila as Radha had the seasoned artiste's approach to shringara with eye gestures supplementing hastha abhinaya.
The facial distortions to convey mock anger could have been toned down a little. Young Naimisha as the deer was a pleasure to behold with her sprightly footwork and limpid looks. Female impersonating of Krishna need to inject a dose of masculinity in bearing and execution of dance just as male impersonation calls for more feminine gestures and body kinetics.
In the case of `Gita Govindam', each lyric had a different pair of Radha-Krishna in action with all the Krishnas who crossed the stage being utterly feminine in movements to the point of marring the viewer's imagination of Lord Krishna's ethereal form. The bends and archs, the twists and coils displayed by Krishna characters in this ballet (from Urmi to Divya to Neha) as they danced was too feminine for appreciation and the facial expressions were one of confusion varying between a smile and surprise rather than the smart, elusive romantic that Krishna ought to be. The spirit of the ballet was snuffed out by the dancers who were not able to internalise the `Krishna-Radha consciousness' that is the essence of `Gita Govindam.'
Nevertheless, the ballet drew a capacity crowd at Ravindra Bharati. The live orchestra was pulsating with mellifluous notes of the flute (J. Dattatreya) and Sitar (Nanda Kumar) who in fact contributed to the aura of a Brindavan. Vocalist Vinati had a reach and clarity that were excellent while one of the male singers was more muffled with his words. Nattuvangam by Raghunandan was compelling as was percussion by Sridharacharya and Samrat Kakeri.
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