On June 29th, 2019, friends, family, and fellow classmates gathered to witness the arangetram of Mihika Abraham, disciple of Smt. Deepa Rajesh. Mihika has been learning from Deepa Rajesh since the age of 6, making the event a culmination of many years of hard work and dedication. The auspicious event was held at Medway  High School.

The program began with a pushpanjali in raagam naata and Adi talam. Pushpanjali  is the offering of flowers to a deity, as a form of obeisance. This dance is performed at the beginning of the recital.

This was followed by Panchamukha Slokham. This is  a song of devotion in praise of Ganesha, Saraswati, Vishu, Siva and Guru. 

Next was the Jatiswaram which is a pure dance, she executed the intricacies of the combination of advus and mudras beautifully.

The auditorium came alive with a padam which enacted the affection  goddess Parvati had for her first son Lord Muruga. Goddess also shows her nine faces, called “navarasa”. This dance is rich with nritha (footwork) and abhinaya (expressions). The audience was mesmerized by the dancer’s range of expressions.

Next was Varnam which  is the most complicated item of Bharatanatyam and is the center piece of the recital. Main mood in this varnam was Bhakti (devotion expressed through love to God, called Bhakti-Sringara).  ‘Gokula Bala,’ a nrityopaharam in Kalyani dedicated to Lord Krishna, was the lynchpin of the recital. The abhinaya and crisp jaatis truly amazed the audience and the dancer received multiple standing ovations.

After the break, the performance continued with a Shivapanchaksham and a Keerthanam describing Lord Rama’s stories.

The final item of Bharatanatyam recital is a pure Nritta (dance) item, where the virtuosity of Raga(music)  reflected in a complex and vibrant footwork and captivating poses. This Thillana was a Dhanasri  Thillana  one of  Maharaja Swathi Thirunal’s most enduring works.

The artists that accompanied made this a great show

Nattuvangam                          Guru Deepa Rajesh
Vocal                                       Harini Darbha
Mridangam                              Gaurish Chandrashekha
Violin                                      Surya Sundararajan

Mihika will continue her Bharatnatyam studies and aspires to learn more dance styles.

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