The second annual TriNetra, the Third Eye Festival of Dance was held on Nov. 18-19 at the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum in Lexington, MA. Jayshree Bala Rajamani, founder of Bharathakalai School of Dance, was the organizer of the event.

“It has been a dream of mine to have a festival where dancers, local dancers who devote so much of their talent and art for the good of the community at large, get a venue to perform without having to shell out a ton of money to perform,” said Rajamani. “The idea of TriNethra is to be that stage, so to speak, where the dancer can show case his/her art and propagate a renewed love of dance and of our local dancers.  The hope is to also offer payment to our dancers as well,” says Rajamani.

The event opened with a Kuchipudi dance recital by Prafulla Velury, a Kuchipudi exponent from Rhode Island. She presented the Pravesu Daru from the famous dance drama Bhama Kalapam by Siddhendra Yogi, the founder of the art form. She followed this with a Tarangam. Prafulla’s energy and delightful Abhinaya were heart warming. 

This was followed by Arupadai – the abodes of Lord Muruga” an original thematic production conceived, choreographed and presented by Suman Adisesh, Jayshree Bala Rajamani, Meena Subramanyam and Janani Swamy. The presentation was a dazzling display of Nritta set to wonderful music created by composer Hariprasad. The standard margam items like Allarippu, Jathiswaram, Shabdam and Varnam were altered into a thematic mode without losing the authenticity of the form. The precise movements and the creative group formation was a testament to the hard work put in by the dancers and showcased Bharatanatyam at its very best. Jayashree’s students embellished the production with their presentation.  

Odissi by Shamoyita Mukherjee was graceful and brilliant. Shamoyita brought to life the creations of Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra with grace and beauty as he intended it to be. Ashtapadi and Ardhanareershwar presentations brought a nice dynamic to the presentation. 

The grand finale was Roja Kannan’s presentation of Thyaga Rahasyam. In the traditional manner of choreographers of yore, Roja had spent significant time studying with a scholar the deep spiritual aspects of Thyagaraja Swami of Thiruvarur  reflected in the various rituals performed at the temple. She wove the presentation into a unraveling of the spiritual secrets of the Great Lord. She used Bharatantayam as it was intended – to provide access to grand spiritual thoughts to audiences in an approachable fashion. Her presentation of the traditional Varnam Mohamana En Meedu had the audience transported to a spiritual realm. The use of a simple story to weave the items together was brilliant. Her own expertise in Nritta and Abhinaya made the presentation picture perfect. After the presentation, many were intrigued and wanted to learn more.

Roja’s devotion to the art and the Lord shone brightly making this a truly eye-opening experience – a fitting finale for Tri-Netra. A great take away from the presentation was the importance of studying the scriptures and working with scholars. We truly have a treasure trove in our scriptures and it is the study of these scriptures that allowed the great Gurus to create timeless masterpieces.   

We thank Jayashree Bala Rajamani for bringing us this brilliant festival and look forward to the next year.