Arangetram: Anaya Joshi, Anya Rao, Gauri Gajeshwar and Sathvika Gunturu

On July 10, 2021, Arlington’s Regent Theater had been magically transformed. A plethora of flower garlands decorated the auditorium, colorful lights illuminated the large stage, and a beautiful altar with Lord Nataraja - the God of dance - completed it all. The four dancers included Gauri Gajeshwar, who had been a student of Smt. Jayshree Bala Rajamani for 10 years, and whose talent, passion and hard work illuminated the stage that night. Anya Rao is a rising senior at Lexington High School, who has learned Bharatanatyam since the age of 8 starting with Dr. Vasundhara Doraswamy of Mysuru, India and upon moving to the US, Anya has been learning with none other than Guru Jayshree Bala Rajamani. Sathvika Gunturu is a rising Junior at Lexington High School who has been learning bharatanatyam from the age of 8 with her guru. Sathvika showed her audience her dedication, hard work and perseverance which shined through her dance. And finally, Anaya Joshi is a rising sophomore at Lexington High School who has been learning bharatanatyam for the past 9 years with Smt. Jayshree Bala Rajamani. After years of hard work and training, the four girls, or as their guru lovingly calls them the “mafia”, ascended the stage to perform their arangetram in front of family, friends and well wishers.

The girls started their arangetram off with a Pushpanjali where instead of offering flowers to Lord Ganesha, they represented a flower in their dance. Anya was the center of the flower while the other three girls rose up around her to represent the petals. The interesting and fascinating choreography was a result of four girls dancing rather than the normal amount of one or two. This piece was immediately followed by the Alarippu through which the dancers slowly opened up their bodies. The next piece was a Swara Jathi which literally means complex steps to the melody. Each of the four girls captivated the audience with their grace, technique and facial expressions. The facial expressions were explored more deeply in the next piece, the Shabdam where each of the four girls had solos. Anaya started off portraying the story of a maiden walking with her friends to take a bath in a nearby pond, and as they are swimming and it is getting late they notice their clothes missing. It is none other than Krishna who pulled a prank on them by stealing their clothes. Anaya’ s beautiful expressions as well as good technique helped the audience connect with her and understand the story she was trying to convey. Anya had the second solo where she depicted Krishna eating a fully churned pot of butter and denying to the gopika that he had eaten it.  Gauri’s solo was the third story. In her solo, Gauri depicted the poet’s comparison of the love between Lakshmi and Vishnu with that of Krishna and a gopika. Gauri’s impressive storytelling and abhinaya were showcased perfectly in this piece. Sathvika was the last story. She depicted the poet, who asks Krishna for forgiveness and praises the God’s greatness as the Creator.

One of the most notable dances in an arangetram, and one that brings out a dancer’s true abilities is the Varnam. This particular one was performed on Lord Hanuman. Each of the girls had to switch roles between being Hanuman, Rama, and various different devotees throughout this piece. They each showed their strength of memory, stamina and abhinaya. Anaya played the role of Vishnu exceptionally well where she showed how Vishnu as a promise to complete his prayers to Shiva removed his eye and offered it as the 1,008th lotus. Sathvika  masterfully played the roles of a devotee, a rakshasa, and the snake Surasa. Anya represented the bravery and intelligence of the Lord. She beautifully depicted the story where Lord Hanuman had to cross the ocean to save Sita from the ten-headed Rama who stole her. Gauri switched between many roles including a devotee, Shiva, and Sita. These were just some of the many highlights in their Varnam.

After a brief intermission, the second half of their arangetram flew by. They opened with the Mahishasura Mardini Stotram which was a very powerful piece showcasing the goddess at her finest form. Next was Chandra Chooda a short yet sweet piece on Lord Shiva himself praising him and his crescent moon. The final padam of the evening was a marathi song for Anaya and Gauri's roots which was the Geet Ramayan. This piece described Rama’ s two sons who sang their fathers praises unaware that Rama himself was their father. The dancers ended with a pure dance piece called a Thillana in their performance containing intricate footwork as well as much stamina. The Thillana is immediately followed by a Mangalam, which is a final thanks to God, the audience, and everyone involved to make the Bharatnatyam arangetram a success.

Personal Statements

Anaya Joshi

Doing my Arangetram has been an unforgettable process that I am sure to hold dear to my heart for my entire life. It has allowed me to learn so much about my cultural background, my friends and family, and about myself as both a dancer and as an individual. My journey also cannot be mentioned without also mentioning the three other talented dancers I went on it with, who I’ve come to deeply know and love as some of the kindest and most understanding friends I’ve ever had. I am also deeply grateful to my guru smt. Jayshree Bala Rajamani, who has shown me through Bharatanatyam that true story-telling knows no real boundaries.

Anya Rao

The rehearsal before the arangetram, Jayshree Didi told me that my arangetram would go by in the blink of an eye - and that it did. I am so proud of the Lex Mafia and me for completing our arangetram and putting such effort and dedication into it amidst the pandemic and other external factors. Even though it feels like the entire process went by so fast, I am so happy for all of the memories created, mistakes made and jokes cracked. I couldn't have done this without Jayshree Didi and the rest of the gang.

Gauri Gajeshwar

Bharatanatyam is truly one of my greatest passions, and completing my arangetram has been one of my long held goals since I was little. The experience was unlike anything I could imagine. I will forever cherish the memories of hours and hours of practice leading up to the performance, all the jokes that the Lex Mafia laughed at together, and the dancing that we did. I am grateful to them for supporting me, and being my friends-- they will always be dear to my heart. I am also especially grateful for my Guru Jayshree didi. I wouldn’t be the dancer or the person I am today without her. Under her tutelage, bharatanatyam has been my source of constant joy, no matter how terrible of a day I might have had. Now, after completing my arangetram, I am truly excited to see how my bond with bharatanatyam will grow and strengthen as I continue to dance in the future.

Sathvika Gunturu

My Arangetram experience, as well as the entirety of my dance journey has been something truly memorable. I will always appreciate the beautiful intricacies of Bharatanatyam—from the first jatis that I learned, all the way to the most expressive pieces with their flowing movements—and it has become such an important part of my life. Through dance, and the hours of practice it entailed, I’ve learned much about myself and my strengths, but also my culture. But of course, I wasn’t practicing alone. Doing my arangetram with a group of friends who I hold dear made the experience all the more enjoyable. I’m also extremely fortunate to have been guided through this journey by Guru Smt. Jayshree Bala Rajamai, whose kindness and passion for the art is truly inspiring.

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