Arangetram: Ananya Narayanan And Indu Subramanian
by Ramya Srinivasan

An innovative, expressive and vibrant Bharatanatyam Arangetram of Ananya Narayanan  weaved with graceful performances from her Mother Indu Subramanian.

I was personally looking forward to this arangetram from the Lasya School of dance. This arangetram happens to be the first launch of a mother and daughter duo performing together, the first of its kind indeed!

On July 29th, the hallway of Sutton school was hustling and bustling with family and friends streaming in,  most women, adorning beautiful drapes of six yards of pure elegance. I was taking keen interest in cutting the strings of jasmine and offering it to the arriving guests as they stood candidly to pose for a picture or two for the enthusiastic photographer.

The program kicked off auspiciously with Pandit Sri Bhairavarji chanting the praises of Lord Nataraja to bless Ananya and Indu on their important day. This was followed by Sudevji's invocation song, Vathapi Ganapathim praying to the Lord Ganesh to remove all obstacles and bless the mother-daughter duo for a successful arangetram.

The Arangetram started with a Ganesha Vandana by Ananya where she welcomed the audience and paid obeisance to the gods, gurus and the musicians. A timeless classic Natanam Adinar in Vasantha was a refreshing performance by Ananya reminding us about the grandeur of Thillai Natarajar's blissful dance in the golden hall of Chidambaram. The special choreography by Sapanaji for Ananya stood out as Ananya showcased Shiva's splendorous dance with heavy rhythmic footwork.

The Andal Kavuthuvam in Malayamarutham was a colorful and sparkling performance by Ananya adorning the Andal kondai and carrying a beautiful parrot while dancing away elegantly like Andal. It was endearing to see Ananya hug the idol of Krishna thereby portraying the ardent love that Andal had for Ranganathar. The flower garland, green parrot and the Krishna idol were aesthetically appealing thereby adding a great deal of grandeur to the overall performance.

The crowning piece Varnam was a melodious Meera bhajan tuned by Sudev Warrier. Ananya captivated the audience with her intricate fast paced footwork, abhinayam and adavus. She enacted the three interwoven sancharis with substantial devotion. The jathis throughout the varnam impressed the audience significantly to which she received a brilliant applause. The choreography creatively coalesced the stories of Draupadi from Mahabharatha, followed by Bhakta Prahalada and finally the Gajendra Moksham.

Notably the Draupadi disrobing scene was enacted by Ananya impeccably emoting Draupadi's emotions of pain, shame, humility, fear and finally her cry to Lord Krishna to save her. She seamlessly transitioned between the five characters being the cunning Shakuni, emperor Yudhishthira, cruel Dushasana, chaste Draupadi and finally the divine Krishna. Within the span of a few minutes Ananya enacted these contrasting characters skillfully. Hats off to the flavorful choreography and the characterization by Ananya.

The accompanying musicians added ample spirit to the Varnam, elevating the performance and transporting the audience to witness Prahalada's steadfast devotion to Lord Vishnu. Ananya brought out the fearsome towering Narasimha with her ferocious expressions and body language enacting the destruction of Hiranyakashipu. This was a fascinating sight to watch Veera Narasimha! The roaring of the lion and red lights in the background uplifted the performance for the audience.

The Gajendra moksham was a majestic depiction by Ananya with abundant valor to showcase how Gajendra attained the moksham and merged with Lord Vishnu. This varnam truly touched my heart with a tear or two in my eyes.

Amongst the compositions from eminent composers, Ananya performed to Maha Kali by Madurai R Muralidharan. Ananya performed a fierce Durga and showcased the manifestations of the divine Shakthi in various female goddesses.

Kaliyuga Varadhan depicted the enchanting Lord Muruga where Ananya expertly showcased the dance of a peacock with her precise and swift body movements. The Nattuvangam was powerfully delivered by Sapnaji making this an enthralling experience for the Murugan Bhaktas.

Amongst the sequence of the dance items, there were heartfelt speeches in between from family and friends. It was warmly emotional to hear from family and friends, praising Indu and Ananya while they shared interesting anecdotes about their dance journey.

Being related to the family, I was elated to talk about Indu and could personally connect with her and Ananya in various aspects.

It was an exceptional opportunity for me to highlight all the hard work and efforts taken by Indu, both as a doting mother to Ananya and being a performer herself.

The makeup, costumes and hairdo were flawless for both the mother and daughter transforming them to goddesses or the deity being portrayed in their performances. Outstanding honor to Anu Metra for shaping the arangetram girls week after week and making them look impressively gorgeous on their big day!

Popularly known and knowledgeable MC Dr. Saritha Venkatesh had a prominent presence throughout the program as she seamlessly hosted and navigated the arangetram end to end.

Indu's javali performance really stood out with utmost dynamism. I had not observed a Javali in an arangetram before and I was thoroughly thrilled to enjoy this. The story that Indu portrayed really stirred the audience emotionally and conveyed a deep message of women empowerment with conviction. She articulated Sringara rasa so beautifully as the nayika adorned and waited for her lover. Finally she blew the audience over when she walked away as a bold nayika abandoning her lover as he had disrespected her. This soulful performance moved us as she exquisitely highlighted the skillful choreography by Sapnaji. This was a compelling performance by Indu with impactful and graceful emotions. Kudos!

Ananya's brother Anish stole the audience with his sweet singing during the interlude with exceeding enthusiasm. His candid speech about his sister amused the audience with resounding applause.

It was a surprise twist when Ranjani Mala was effortlessly rendered by Ananya. She filled the auditorium with her sweet honey like voice as she seamlessly switched from Ranjani to Sriranjani to Megharanjani and finally to Janaranjani. The audience listened in rapt attention as this was quite a rare sight to witness a Bharatanatyam arangetram girl prove her singing skills during her dance arangetram. I was thoroughly enjoying Ananya's singing beside her Guru Sudev Warrier and the A-grade Vidhwangal complementing her performance in melodious harmony.

Maadu mekkum kanne was a true spectacular piece which showcased the playful love between mother Yashoda and son Krishna, and how cross Mother Yashoda was with Krishna. The antics of Krishna were beautifully portrayed by Ananya while Mother Indu tried to stop Krishna by coaxing him with treats and love. The mayil peeli, peacock blue costume, meaningful props and more added an exceptional deal of color and a vivid sight to us watching Lord Krishna and his Mother Yashoda on stage.

The arangetram concluded with a thillana and mangalam. Indu and Ananya danced to the rhythmic beats of the thillana with appreciable poise. I was excited to hear the lilting Chandra Jyothi ragam sung by Sudevji. The breathtaking drop of flower petals at the end of the mangalam gave an awe-inspiring finishing to the event.

It was heartwarming to hear the speech from Dr. Ranjani Saigal, President of Ekal Vidyalaya and Founder of Lokvani. She had graced the occasion as the chief guest and stayed throughout the arangetram supporting the performers.

The star studded orchestra enriched the arangetram with their live music and showcased dedicated execution while resonating the auditorium with their talented music. Vocalist Sri Sangita Ratna E P Sudev Warrier, Mridangist Sri Nagarajan Shanmugalingam, Violinist Sri Anandhu Lal and Flute by Sri Ramani Thiyagarajan provided unwavering support to Ananya and Indu. Guru Sapna Krishnan on the Nattuvangam enthralled the audience with her fast paced rhythmic recitation of the jathis throughout the recital.

Indu is a perfectionist and we could see that at every step that evening. The hallway decor had indeed attention to details as it conveyed the main themes and stories of their performances that evening. Special call out to Mrs. Anitha Athipathy for all the beautiful, detail oriented and lively décor at every nook and corner of the venue clearly indicating the theme of the arangetram.

Overall this was a glorious arangetram end to end with multiple facets and aspects of devotion, spirituality, beauty, dance, music, and so much more coming together. Hats off to Ananya for preparing for her arangetram while she was in college! She put up an extravagant show in spite of her limited time and practices amidst her college studies. This event meant a lot for Ananya as she proved her sincerity and devotion to the Indian cultural heritage and this art form.

A noteworthy amount of thought process had gone into designing and curating the costumes for both mother and daughter. I was so inspired to see the bold color combinations chosen for the costumes and the Vanki (armlet) studded blouses of Ananya stood out uniquely for me.

I sincerely wish Ananya for a bright future in Bharatanatyam and the same for Indu in all her future endeavors!

Respect to Guru Sapna Krishnan for all the creative choreography. It is astounding how she tailors everything to the finest for her students, bringing out their brilliant talent to the world!

Other Credits:

Photography: Jeyakumar Sathyamoorthy
Video: Manoj Panicker
Sound: Manish Kurup
Lights: Mark/NE stage works

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