“Yato Bhavo Tato Rasaha” - where the dancer can convey a tale with passion and power there they will Rasaanubhava – a delectable experience says an old dance Shloka. These words were never truer than at the Bhakti Margam concert performed by the legendary dancing duo Shanta and Dhananjayan at the Littleton High School Auditorium on Nov 1 2008.  They were accompanied by their very talented students Sangeeta Vijeyasarathy and Padmarani Rasiah.  

For lovers of Indian Classical dance this performance was a delight not only for the dancing skills displayed but for the attention that was paid to details of music, lyrics and story-telling.  The dancers had obviously spent an enormous amount of time delving into the tales they presented. Thus the presentation was a spectator’s delight.  Abhinaya or story-telling was central to the presentation.  

The concert opened with the performance of a Panchanadai Natyaanjali in Raagamaalika composed by Turaiyur Rajagopala Sarma.  This was followed by Sri Rama Pattabhisheka Bhangam, from Arunachala Kavirayar’s RamaNaatakam. What an amazing rendition this was! The piece began with Manthara poisoning the mind of Kaikeyi and then Kaikeyi asking two boons from Dasharata.  The 70 year old Dhananjayan actually falling down with a thud to depict the shock that Dasharata felt when he heard Kaikeyi’s words was masterful. Kaikeyi was depicted with grace and dignity that befits a queen.  Here was a lesson for dancers who often depict Kaikeyi in a more ‘Adhama’ fashion.
 
In honor of Skanda Shashti, Padmarani Rasiah presented Mayilvaahan Mohanam in Aadi Thallam. This is a composition of Papanasam Sivan.  This was followed by arguably the finest presentation of the evening ‘Varugalaamo Ayya’ from Gopalakrishna Bharathi’s Nandanar Charitram.  This piece is a signature item of the Dhananjayans and this rendition clearly showed that with age his understanding of the character of Nandanar has matured even more.  Bhajamana , a Hindi Bhajan by Tulasidas and Nrittaaangahaaram , a Balamurali Tillana in Ragam Kunthalavaraali brought the presentation to a close.

“Dance for us has been a means to enhance our spiritual self”, say Shanta and Dhananjayan. Why do people not present Abhinaya pieces anymore and move into a fusion mode? “I am not sure but I think in our experience Abhinaya pieces particularly attract the audience that is not familiar with Bharatanatyam.  If you an artist who strives to present the art rather yourself through your presentation you will be able to reach to your audience.”  

The dance was enhanced by the amazing music provided by Babu Parameswaran (vocal), Nellai D Kannan (mridangam) and Eswar Ramakrishnan (violin).  Dhananjayans are famous for being the most sincere and straightforward people. That showed in presentation and as we left the hall we prayed that this will not be their last tour of the US. May Lord Nataraja give us a chance to see them perform again.

Lokvani salutes this great duo and on behalf of the world of dance thanks them for their contributions.

The event was sponsored by the Manitha Neyam Trust which is doing phenomenal work in bringing support to the marginalized people in war torn Sri Lanka. To learn more about Manitha Neyam , please check out their website at http://manithaneyam.org/.

We will feature the trust in our future issue.

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