Arangetram: Mahika Sathnur

On September 7, 2024, Mahika Sathnur performed her Bharatha Natyam arangetram at the Saint John’s High School auditorium in Shrewsbury, MA. Mahika is a shishya of Guru Smt. Sunanda Narayanan and yet another accomplished dancer from the Thillai Fine Arts Academy.

Mahika presented an immensely enjoyable margam in the Vazhuvoor style of Bharatha Natyam, rooted in tradition and rich in aesthetic beauty. Mahika has a charming stage presence, and her dance, marked by easy grace and ﬁdelity to grammar, bears the stamp of Guru Sunanda’s bani. The repertoire comprised of pieces that embodied the timeless beauty of the traditional margam. Guru Sunanda’s choreography was replete with nuanced technical and artistic elements that were a testament to her artistic lineage.

Following an invocatory Thodaya Mangalam dedicated to the deities of Vazhuvoor, Mahika opened her performance with a Pushpanjali in lilting Kedharam, composed by Smt. Sumitra Nitin. The Pushpanjali was followed by Sakala Kala Vaniye, a composition of the philosopher and poet Suddaananda Bharathi, in which Mahika sought the grace of Goddess Saraswathi, the embodiment of arts and knowledge, brave and compassionate.

Next, Mahika, with ﬂawless form, presented an Alarippu in Kandam, set to background lyrics from the Thiruppugazh in praise of Lord Ganesha and set to composition by Maestro Lalgudi Sri Jayaraman. This was followed by a vintage Vasantha jathiswaram by the Tanjore Quartet in which the nritta varied in tempo and complexity and was beautifully punctuated by moments of silence and stillness.

Between the jathiswaram and varnam, Rhea Sathnur, shishya of Guru Smt. Tara Bangalore and Mahika’s elder sister presented two delightful vocal pieces. Rhea’s rendition of “Parvathi Kumaram” in Nattaikuranji and “Narayanathe” in Behag earned her satisﬁed smiles from her esteemed Guru and the appreciation of the rasikas.

Mahika rose to every demand placed on her by the substantive Kamboji varnam, “Naadhanai AzhaiVhu Va”. The choreography eschewed extravagance and instead created a remarkably pleasing ﬂow of music and movement in which the technical complexities were unobtrusive, revealed like little treasures. In the ﬁrst half of the varnam, Mahika’s abhinaya was involved as she depicted the forlorn nayika, bewildered by the indiﬀerence of her beloved, Lord Muruga. She recalls their joyful union even as now each one of Kamadeva’s arrows inﬂicts a unique torment. The second half of the varnam, rendered at a lively pace, opened with a sprightly jathi depicting Lord Muruga’s peacock mount. There were several sanchari passages, cleverly conceived by Guru Sunanda and neatly presented by Mahika, including the destruction of the demon Soorapadman wherefrom arose Muruga’s peacock mount and rooster ﬂag, Muruga bestowing upon his father, Lord Shiva, the Upadesha of Omkara and the birth of Arumuga, the six faced lord. Mahika deftly handled the exacting nritta passages from the opening jathi to the concluding swaram.

Guru Sunanda selected gems of the traditional Bharatha Natyam repertoire for the second half of the recital. In “Anandha Natamaaduvar Thillai”, Mahika portrayed the dancing Lord Nataraja at Thillai- the Inﬁnite one adorned by snakes, the Nger skin and the tempestuous River Ganga. His cosmic Thandava was portrayed by Mahika equally through dynamic movement and arresting poses that were interwoven throughout the piece.

The strains of Punnagavarali took us next to “Naadhar Mudi” or the classic “Paambu dance” describing the swaying, sinuous dance of the cobra adorning Lord Shiva, aloft his head, entwined on his form and as kundalas on his ears. While few dancers have the ﬂexibility to render the classic choreography, Mahika executed eﬀortless backbends, splits, twirls and spins that increased in pace to the snake charmer’s exhortations of “Adu Pambe, Vilayaadu Pambe”.

In the beautiful Dasar padam, Baro Krishnayya, bhava reigned supreme as Mahika called to Lord Krishna ﬁrst as a delightful little child, then as the resplendent beloved of the Gopis and ﬁnally as the Paramathma. Mahika depicted the story of the poet Kanakadasa who was barred entry to the temple; in response to his bhaktha’s desperate pleas, Lord Krishna turned position and revealed himself.

Mahika concluded with the classic Kanada thillana in praise of Lord Rama rendered with verve, bringing her recital to a joyous close.

The lifeforce of Bharatha Natyam is the music and Mahika’s recital was rooted in music of the highest order from the selection of the pieces to the prowess of the accompanying musicians. The powerhouse orchestra was led by Guru Sunanda Narayanan, with Guru Sumitra Nitin on vocal, Guru Tara Bangalore on violin and Tarun Bangalore on the mridangam. Guru Sumitra’s rendition of ragams such as Kalyani, Kedharam, Hamir Kalyani, Kedaram and Poorvi Kalyani was deeply classical and rendered with an expert understanding of the dance. Tarun’s lyrical accompaniment didn’t miss a literal or virtual beat and embellished the presentation with just the right ﬂourishes. In Guru Tara’s hands, the music takes form to convey stories, characters and mood.

Yet another stellar arangetram from the Thillai Fine Arts Acadmey and yet another disciple who has done Guru Sunanda proud.