Shuruthe Raju’s Bharatha Natyam dance debut—her arangetram—was also the debut arangetram of her guru Smt. Sujatha Meyyappan’s Kolam Academy of Dance.  Held on July 20th, 2013 at the Rogers Center for the Arts, North Andover, MA, the skill of the dancer, the vibrant choreography, superb orchestra and professional arrangements came together to create a stellar performance.

After a stirring invocation, “Varavallabha Ramana,” by the orchestra, Shuruthe presented a dynamic opening to the program with a Pushpanjali in ragam Saraswathi set to Adi thalam, which was marked by the sharpness of her steps and brimming with an energy that would continue unabated through the entire program.  It was followed by a beautiful rendition of Adi Shankaracharya's “Ganesha Pancharatnam,” in Ragamalika set to Chathusra Eka thalam.  Specially arranged by Smt. Sujatha Meyyapan’s  guru, the renown Chennai dancer, choreographer and composer, Madurai R. Muralidharan, this novel arrangement of the familiar sloka featured vibrant jathis punctuating each of the five verses.  Shuruthe’s crisp yet graceful mudras and movements brought out the beautiful meaning of each line, as when she beautifully tossed a handful of modhagams into her mouth as the sweet-loving Ganesha.  Without losing a drop of the energy with which she had started the program, Shuruthe next performed a brisk rendition of the Tanjore Quartet’s Jathiswaram in ragam Saveri, set to Rupaka thalam, and executed her steps with admirable precision.

The Varnam—the central piece of a Bharatha Natyam recital, combining pure dance, emotive narration and dramatic role-playing followed.  Set in ragam Lathangi to Adi thalam, it was both composed and choreographed by Guru Muralidharan.  Shuruthe lovingly described the divine sound of the salangai, or bells of Nataraja, Lord Shiva’s form as the God of Dance. Shuruthe acted out several Shiva stories, such as how Shiva drank the poison that came forth when the Devas and Asuras tried to churn nectar from the ocean of milk.  Her lithe poses, dynamic movements and confident expressions showed Shuruthe’s firm grip on all the crucial aspects of Bharatha Natyam, and made for a viewing pleasure.

After a brief intermission, the program continued with several padhams—expressive dance items—and other lighter items.  First was “Alarulu Kuriyaga,”  Saint Annamacharya’s well-known padham on  Alarmel Mangai, Goddess Mahalakshmi’s form in the Venkatachalapathi temple of Tirupathi, in ragam Sankarabaranam and set to Adi talam.  The choreography was vibrant and fast, and Shuruthe was filled with feminine grace, especially when showing Alarmel Mangai turning her head coyly from a shower of flowers.  Shuruthe showed her versatility in dance by inserting a powerful vein into her feminine grace in the next padham, Mahakavi Subramanya Bharathiyar’s “Shakthi Koothu”. This piece was in ragam Shiva Shakthi, set to Adi thalam, in praise of Goddess Parvathi in the form of Shakthi, the feminine form of the life energy of the universe, who dances by Lord Shiva’s side.

The next piece was another unique offering— the verses of Saint Arunagirinadhar’s first Thirupughazh in praise of Lord Muruga, set to ragam Shanmughapriya and Misra Chapu thalam, were interspersed by fast, spirited jathis.  This unique piece was crafted by Guru Madurai R. Muralidharan specifically for Shuruthe’s aranegtram.  It was followed by an enchanting performance to Oothukadu Venkata Subbaiyar’s “Vishamakara Kannan” in ragam Chenchurutti, set to Eka thalam.  Shuruthe moved with ease between her portrayal of the mischievous Lord Krishna and of the gopika girls he teases relentlessly.  Her bounding leaps as Krishna tending to His cows were delightful and she beautifully executed the comic choreography, supported by a thoroughly involved orchestra, including sound effects from the violin!  The audience was hard pressed not to clap along in rhythm to the song.

After this remarkably physically demanding set of expressive pieces, Shuruthe performed a fast-paced Thillana seemingly effortlessly.  Her form and energy were in full force for the piece, Dr. M. Balamuralikrishna’s composition in ragam Kunthalavarali, set to Adi thalam.  She concluded the program with a beautiful Mangalam in praise of Goddess Lakshmi, set to ragam Yadukulakaamboji and Adi thalam.  Shuruthe’s skill and dedication to dance shone throughout her confident and beautiful performance.

Guru Smt. Sujatha Meyyappan, in her debut doing nattuvangam, rendered strong and exciting jathis.  She was accompanied by a troupe of highly talented musicians from India.  The fine control and deep emotion of vocalist Sri Prasanth Parasini was a treat for both the ears and the heart.  Sri Dhanamjayan Muthukrishnan, on mridhangam, provided the wonderful percussion backbone for the rhythm-heavy repertoire.  Sri Surya Narayanan Krishnan Iyer’s evocative flute and Sri Muruganandhan Vasudevan’s versatile violin rounded out the excellent music.  Overall the orchestra gave a simply phenomenal performance.

The lovely temple-inspired stage scene, the punctuality of the program’s start, the beautiful pictures and decorations in the lobby and the inclusion of a small song performed by Shuruthe’s little sister Laya and cousin-brother Adarsh during one of the costume changes are just a few examples that show the degree of planning and effort that went into every detail of this showcase of Shuruthe’s dance talents.

The chief guest, Guru Madurai R. Muralidharan, gave his blessings to guru, shishya and orchestra, and spoke many eloquent words about the skill and efforts of both Sujatha and Shuruthe, and the endless support of their families, especially Shuruthe’s parents, Anantha Kondalraj & Geetha Raju.  He compared this arangetram to the joyful birth of a child.  Indeed, Shuruthe’s jumps and leaps bore the unmistakable mark of her guru, Smt. Sujatha Meyyappan, who herself originally trained in Bharatha Natyam under “Kalaimaamani” late T. K. Rajalakshmi Ammal, and continues advanced training from Guru Madurai R. Muralidharan.  Smt. Sujatha has instilled in her disciple not just impeccable form, but also a deep love for this art form.  That both of them thoroughly enjoyed working together towards this grand program was evident in their heartfelt thank you speeches.

Shuruthe has made the time to dedicate herself to the art of Bharatha Natyam despite her rigorous academic load as a sophomore at Austin Preparatory School in Reading, MA and—perhaps even more illustrative of her dedication— Shuruthe, an avid athlete in basketball, lacrosse, cross country and soccer at the varsity level, was, at the behest of her guru, willing to put aside her beloved sports during her arangetram preparation, to guard against any inconvenient injuries.  Shuruthe wanted to use the occasion of her arangetram to support local music and arts organizations, and this effort was very successful.  In lieu of accepting gifts and flowers, she requested friends and families to make contributions to the New England Youth Music Orchestra.

The New England audience can look forward not only to the enjoyment of watching future performances of Shuruthe’s combination of grace and energy, but also to the future debuts of Guru Smt. Sujatha Meyyappan’s students from Kolam Academy of Dance.

|