Bhatta Lollatta, the master philosopher from Kashmir in his treatise “Utpattivada” while expounding the RASA theory, talks of Rasa as being that state of mind the audience experience on account of powerful storytelling and interplay of characters. It is this active engagement that makes one leave the auditorium with something to talk and think about post-performance. I was able to experience this bliss or Ananda as I left the auditorium on 27^th of July 2024 on witnessing the arangetram of Suman Adisesh’s student Drithi Kumar.

Suman Adisesh is a well known teacher, dancer and choreographer in the Boston area imparting Vazhuvoor style of Bharatanatyam through her institution “Spandha School of Dance” in Acton, Massachusets. A student of Guru Smt. Padmini Ravi of Bengaluru, India, Suman takes on the responsibility of passing on the knowledge of the art form to her students with a lot of dedication and sincerity. Suman’s passion for the art along with her interest in researching topics in a detailed manner, willingness to experiment, learn and understand the strengths in her students were clearly noticeable when there was never a dull moment on stage.  She was ably supported by a fantastic orchestra consisting of Nandakumar Unnikrishnan on Vocal, Ravichandra Kulur on Flute, Karthik Vydathri on Mridangam and Drumpads and Prahlad Chakravarthy on Kanjira and Morsing.

Drithi a recent graduate of Acton Boxboro High School commenced her Arangetram recital with a Pushpanjali in Nattai set to Aditalam followed by a bhajan on Ganesha which saw a clear depiction of Ganesh’s birth done soulfully. Dressed in a bright yellow and turquoise blue costume, Drithi next moved on to the Jatiswaram in Bahudari which saw brisk nritta patterns and interesting use of alapadma and katakamukha hastas.

To expound a story and take audience with you on a journey through the art of story telling using Natyam is a blessing. In order to make this plausible, dance and music must sync as one entity. This was achieved beautifully by Drithi in the piece de resistance of the evening, a Kabir Dohe adapted to the varnam format in Raga Desh set to adi talam. Suman’s clear thought process in narrating the story, use of raised platform on the center of the stage to introduce characters and elaborate episodes from Ramayana added colorful hues to the piece. Drithi did a wonderful job of bringing out all the characters in Ramayana. Sabhari ‘s story was done with great feeling and sensitivity.  Crisp rendition of Jathis by Suman, especially the Trikala theermanam, soulful singing by Nandakumar and use of drumpads, kanjira and morsing to show the Rama Ravana battle elevated the varnam to a higher plane of sublime devotion and fervor.

Second half of the program began with Keerthanam “Uma Maheshwara” on Shiva based on by Adishankara’s shiva shlokams in Ragamalika and Tala malika. The usage of Karanas and Charis in the jathis as they interspersed with the lyrics added color to this delightful number.

Clad in a beautiful maroon costume, Drithi went on to present the popular Javali “SmaraSundararanguni” in Paras. A composition of Dharmapuri Subbaraya Iyer, the heroine is a Swadinapathika Nayika – a woman who is self assured and confident of her love.  It was refreshing to see a Javali being done on stage especially in an arangetram. Drithi brought out all the qualities of the heroine with ease and sincerity.

A wonderful aalap on flute by Ravi Kulur in Hindolam paved way for the Keerthanam on Krishna in Tulu. Episodes of Krishna stealing butter, his relationship with Nandagopa were the highlight of this number. Drithi then went on to conclude the recital with a Thillana in Ragamalika on Narasimha in Adi followed by a Purandhara dasa krithi, “Pade bhajane mado”. Narasimha avatharam depiction, mishram to adi tala transitions combined with high energy dancing all came together in a beautiful manner to offer a fitting finale to the recital. Drithi concluded her arangetram with a Mangalam comprising of verses by Shankaracharya that expounded on his  “Advaitha Vedantha” philosophy.  Excellent emceeing by Parvathi Ramachandran kept the audience engaged throughout the program.  

As I left the auditorium, I couldn’t help but hum the line “Bhajore Bhaiyya bhajore” expressing my Ananda rasa on being part of an event that elevated my aural and visual senses. Kudos to Suman for her excellent training and Drithi on making her Acharya proud with her wonderful performance.

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