The Satsang Center of Woburn put on a grand show assembled by its members. The show had a variety of items that made for great entertainment. It was held at the Brook school in Lincoln, MA on May 1st, 2004.

Bharatkalai, under the direction of Jayashree Bala Rajamani inaugurated the show. The presentation titled “Sarva Devaya Namha” was creatively assembled by Jayashree by mixing and matching standard Bharatanatyam items. The show featured all of the students from Bharatakalai from the little five year olds to the high schooler and included Jayashree herself.

The presentation began with a rendering of Shlokams by young students.Ganesha Kautvam: in Nattai followed. Next we had Kautvam in Praise of Ganesha, Saraswati, Lakshmi & Shiva in Ragamaalika set to Adhi talam. A unique Shabdam dedicated to Srinath ji , Vanke Ambole in Ragamaalika set to Mishra Chaapu gave insights into the stories associated with the Pushti Marg. The piece was set to music by the local violin maestro, Smt Tara Anand. The beautiful Lingashtakam was performed by some of the senior students of Jayashree.

Navarasa Keertanam choregraphed by Jayashree’s late Guru was the central piece of the presentation where the composer had woven together episodes from the Ramayana to depict the nine emotions. Meenakshi Sthotram, the famous Shiva Stuti, Bho Shambho and a Tillang tillana were part of the evening’s repertoire.

The dances were put well together. Jayashree deserves credit not just for her beautiful line and group choreographies but also for her own excellent dance presentations. Clean Nritta is her forte and all the presentations showcased this beautifully. The production was enhanced by the excellent musical support given by the orchestra which included all the local musical stalwarts. Smt Geeta Murali gave vocal support, while Smt Tara Anand played the violin. Shri V.K.Raman played the flute. Nattuvangam was done by Smt Meena Subramanyam and Shri Gaurishankar Chandrasekar provided the accompaniment on the Mridangam. The team had put in enormous effort and that effort made for a great presentation.

“The best experience for me was being able to work with all my students, from the youngest to the oldest. To have the joy & pleasure of working with live musicians and providing all my students with the opportunity to experience Live Orchestra, something they do not get a chance to do till their Arangetrams - I felt happy to have performed this production for the Satsang and hope that this is just the beginning of many more wonderful moments that we all will share” said Jayashree.

Jayashree Mohapatra vowed the audience with a lovely Bhajan choreographed in the Odissi style. The children from Balagokulum presented a lovely Marathi Koli dance choreographed by Megha Sheth who teaches folk and classical dance at the Satsang center. The wonderful finale to the evening was a superb mono-acting presentation done by Jigisha Pandhi. It was an unusual presentation that brought out her superb histrionic talents.

The Satsang Center is to be commended on putting up such a beautiful show. It was unfortunate that many members from the audience did not wait till the end of the show. Every item was special and worth watching. The program ended with Sudhir Parekh of the Satsang center graciously acknowledging the efforts of the all the participants.

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