Om Sai Ram

From Five to Sixteen, Always Dancing from the Heart

As a five-year-old, Poojitha Jonnavithula would join her mother in the living room, listening to Indian music, swaying and tapping along to the rhythms.  One evening, she realized that she hankered for some guidance on just how to move.  Eleven years later, Pooji’s long journey in dance reached a significant milestone when her guru Smt. Jeyanthi Ghatraju presented her Bharatha Natyam arangetram on August 9, 2015, at Littleton High School.  Pooji’s pursuit of this art form has never come from external or parental influences; the desire to dance comes from within herself, and her pleasure and self-involvement were apparent from start to finish of her enjoyable debut program.

Beginning with a mallari, a processional invocation, Pooji entered stage with flair, miming the nadaswaram pipes that lead the group of musicians and dancers who make their way around the temple.  Pooji’s movements were sharp and her smile broad, inviting the audience to enjoy the performance with her.  She followed the mallari, in ragam Nattai set to Chathusra Eka thalam, with Muralidhara Kauthuvam, a fast-paced celebration of both Lord Krishna’s boyish antics and heroic exploits, composed by Sri Madurai R. Muralidharan, in ragam Arabhi set to Adi thalam.  Pooji’s demonstration of her strong physical control with sharp movements and steady poses continued through to the next piece, a jathiswaram composed by the orchestra vocalist himself, Sri G. Srikanth.  Sri Srikanth’s divinely evocative voice, accompanied by Sri N.K. Kesavan’s reverberating percussion on mridhangam, Sri B. Muthukumar’s lilting flute and Smt. Revathy Ramaswamy’s melodious veena, and of course Smt. Jeyanthi’s confident nattuvangam, provided a golden backbone to Pooji’s joyful dance presentation.

Pooji’s expressions came alive in her varnam, the centerpiece of the traditional Bharatha Natyam repertoire.  This Ragamalika varnam on Lord Shiva, composed by Smt. Ranganayaki Jayaraman, set to Adi talam in Kanda gathi, was challenging for its 5/8 beat pattern, but provided great scope for Smt. Jeyanthi’s creativity and Pooji’s dramatic talents.  As Pooji portrayed the myriad different characters of the sancharis—the stories acted out in dramatic mime—she did not merely reenact a series of memorized body, face and hand movements.  Her reactions were natural and fluid; clearly her mind and heart were transported to the mind and heart of these characters, truly reflecting the “natya” (drama) aspect of Bharatha Natyam.  Her expressions, coming from an authentic place within herself, were able to touch the audience effectively.  She portrayed the angry Shiva whose mediations were disturbed by Kama; she was Bhagiratha, whose efforts to purify the souls of his rash sons eventually lead to Lord Shiva releasing river Ganga down to Earth.  Most honest and endearing was her portrayal of Lord Ganesha tricking Ravana into setting down his boon of an Atma Linga before he could reach and protect his kingdom of Lanka.  Pooji became the youthful Ganesha joyfully tricking Ravana, and believably reduced Ravana from great king to mere man when he had to answer the call of nature.  Equally realistic were her depiction of the innocent, ignorant and completely devout Kannappa, who prays at a Shiva linga with offerings of meat, water from his own mouth and finally the gift of his own eye, and the Shiva linga’s orthodox, scandalized and finally humbled caretaker.  Smt. Jeyanthi’s novel selection of stories to depict in the varnam was an excellent complement to Pooji’s sincere dramatic instincts.

Pooji continued to bring a candid joy and sense of self to her performance in the second half of her arangetram.  She was a beguiling gopi in Sri Oothukkadu Venkatasubbaiyar’s Krishna padham, “Vishathi Vishathi”, in ragam Gourimanohari set to Misra Chapu thalam, a powerful and compassionate Devi in Samudrala Raghavacharya’s “Janani Shivakamini” and a humble devotee of Lord Venkataeshwara in Sri Annamacharya’s keerthanam “Adhivo Alladhivo” in ragam Madhyamavathi set to Adi thalam.  The Devi selection, a classical piece from the movie Nartanasala, was an explicit request from Pooji’s grandmother, and there was certainly an extra depth of feeling in Pooji’s execution of this song.  Smt. Jeyanthi’s own son, talented tabla player Pranav Ghatraju, added an extra layer of beauty to this piece.  The stories depicted in all of the padhams, such as how goddess Parvathi saved Abirami Bhattar by using Her own earrings to create the light of the full moon, or the origin of the seven hills of Tirupathi, were creatively selected, choreographed and rendered.  Pooji completed her arangetram with a thillana composed by Smt. Ranganayaki Jayaraman in ragam Desh, set to Adi thalam, and mangalam.  Right up to the very end, she drew in the audience with her open smile.

The speeches of gratitude and congratulations that followed the dance program had a common thread.  Pooji, a rising junior at Acton Boxborough Regional High School, is a self-motivated, dedicated and driven young woman, tempered by an infectious sense of humor.  She had a sense of gratitude to her encouraging guru and to her family, who whole-heartedly supported Pooji’s pursuit.  Smt. Jeyanthi Ghatraju, who has directed Natyanjali School of Dance in Westford, MA for 20 years, as always presented her student’s arangetram with a strong respect for this divine art form and as a thoughtful reflection of the individual student.  Pooji’s own strong and smart personality clearly carried her through the intense work and commitment it takes to prepare for an arangetram, and it carried her through her arangetram day itself, giving a joyful glow to her performance.  Eleven years may feel like a long journey at sixteen, but it is truly just the beginning for anyone who wants to dedicate a part of their life to this art form.  Hopefully Pooji will pursue further milestones in this art form, continuing to find joy for herself and to make others smile through dance.