Her Radiance – A Brilliant Portrayal of “Her Strength and Potential”

It may seem unusual that a layman like me has set out to write about Rasarang's dance program - "Her Radiance" (held in Sharon on Sept. 29, 2018). Now I realize, that was precisely the point of this thematic presentation – reaching the mass! It was highly appealing to everyone in the audience, irrespective of whether one understood the technicalities and nuances of classical dance.

When art is applied to introduce a concept, embellish it with stories from our epics and folklore, mix it with highly impressive live music, portray it with sheer talent, passion and poise - "Her Radiance" is indeed seen in full brilliance!

The mother-daughter duo - Poornima and Shachi Risbud brought out the best in each other. The theme of the evening was further enriched by the fact that a mom shared the dias with her daughter to highlight the strength, resilience and the love of a woman! This, at a time when several women centric issues are coming to the fore in various walks of life. Kudos to Rasarang team for the wonderful portrayal of "Her Radiance" highlighting several illustrious women such as Draupadi, Mohini who killed the demon Bhasmasura, Radha who completes Krishna, and more.

Variety in a thematic presentation enhances the overall profile of the program. Rasarang team has a good track record of putting up quality shows with great production values. This show lived up to that tradition - costumes, lighting (Kedar Risbud), music, dance and the narrative all came together to create a wonderful presentation. Audience will remember for a long time the episodes such as Krishna - Radha, Mohini Bhasmasura and the gambling scene from Mahabharata. Another highlight was the enactment of Sulasa, in a contemporary style the usual life of a mother and daughter. The abhinaya and all other dance nuances that the duo expressed made it a brilliant presentation. With songs chosen from multiple languages, one can imagine the sheer amount of effort that gone into the choreography that brought out the best in the dancers.

Musicians also had a great share in the success of the evening. Mrudangam player (Sudhaman Subramaniam) doubled up as a cheerleader for the whole team and infused a new dimension to enjoying the presentation. Vocal (Sudev Warrier), violin (Jithendra Kishore), flute (Pathanjali Chittoor), nattuvangam (Sangeeta Vijay) and mrudangam players excelled in their presentation. Audience were spellbound to hear instrumental renditions such as “Nagumomu" on the flute and "Jagadodhaarana" on the violin.

Last but not the least, proceeds from this event benefit Mandaara New England Kannada Koota's charity and service arm - Seva Mandaara. One must remember that Rasarang was also one of the supporters of another Seva Mandaara project called "Maadhurya" about 4 years ago - that raised significant funds to help Ekal Vidyalaya and Samarthanam. Funds from this event will be used to help organizations addressing the root cause of recent disasters in Kodagu and Kerala. The positive impact of this show is yet another silver lining in "Her Radiance". Looking forward to more of such colorful thematic presentations by Rasarang team and kudos to Poornima Risbud for bringing it all together.

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