The Land of Looms and Lores awoke on a
sleepy, sweltering Sunday to the resonance of bells and the strains
of rare ragas on 29th April '12. Opera 2012, a
dance performance organised by Kalakshetra of Chakkarakkal, Kannur
featured none less than the stellar Shobana and her students from
Kalarpana.
The 2-hour treat was a mixed repertoire
of classical and experimental fare. After a sculpturesque invocation
to Lord Nataraja by the artiste, a brief 'Chollu' was presented by
her students Vidhya and Anuroopita. While the former exuded poise and
powerful abhinaya, the lissome Anuroopita mesmerised the audience
with her telltale eyes and resilient moves. The composition was based
on the mythological sequence where the six-headed Lord Shanmugha
narrates the prowess of Lord Shiva to his companion ( Ganesa?).
Shobana returned to the stage to
perform an elaborate Varnam in praise of Lord Shiva. The episode was
the penance by young Parvati to woo the ash-smeared mendicant- much
to the chagrin of her parents. Snakes, tigers, demons are sent to
vanquish Shiva by the king of the land; Shiva effortlessly dons the
venomous serpent as an ornament, kills the tiger and drapes its skin
around him and dances upon the demon in triumph!The varnam also had a
sweet detail of Shiva visiting Parvati in disguise. While the piece
was a shining example of Shobana's mastery over Abhinaya, the
shringara of the scene came across as subtle and earthy at the same
time. It was awe-inspiring to watch the artiste's inexhaustible
energy throughout the extended piece, interspersed with some
high-speed percussion also. However, there were a few seconds where
the rhythm of the mridangam went a bit out of sync with the tempo of
the dance(r).
Photo Credit: Sri Radhesh P.T
As Shobana took a much-needed break,
her students took over the stage as they moved to a track by Mandolin
Sreenivas. The experimental choreography reminded me of Padma
Subrahmaniam's Gajendra Moksham tuned to Japanese music. The purely
instrumental track was refreshingly well-timed after the richly
classical varnam; and the dancers' well- synchronised moves
enlivened it all the more! The experimental pieces continued; this
time the dancers swayed to a Western symphony ( remember, the
occassion is International Dance Day!) , an item I've come across
earlier, on Shobana's 'Thanima' video CD. This one was more playful,
the light-footed moves redolent of classical ballet.
From the Lasya and Tandava of
Shakti-Shiva, the artiste took the audience to the rustic exuberance
of Krishna's Gokul. 'Vishamakaara Kannan ( Oothukkadu
Venkatasubbaier, Aruna Sairam) unveiled the frivolous aspect of the
dancer. It was evident that she enjoyed performing the piece as much
as the audience who watched her! The very realistic yet evocative
expressions: the exasperated Gopis, the harried Yashoda, the
precocious and cheeky Krishna... the characters blossomed
effortlessly onstage. At a point, Shobana's abhinaya of the
butter-craving blue boy was so palpable, one could perceive her face
changing contours and assuming a boyish aspect! This version of
Vishamakaara Kannan outdid Shobana's earlier interpretations ( Please
check the clip below for version 1.0)
The announcement of the next item sent a shiver of anticipation through me. “A modern
interpretation of the Ras Leela, whose choreography retains the stamp
of vintage Jayadeva,...”. While
I was very familiar with the screen versions of “Geet Govind'
choreographed by Shobana earlier, another part of me ardently hoped
that this piece would be different. It had been my deep desire to
watch the Ras Leela sequence from Krishna Chronicles, and I waited
with bated breath for the forthcoming piece. Could it, could it
be...? The hiss of the fog machine answered my question. I exulted ,
“ This is the Ras- the way I loved and wanted it!” The one from
Krishna Chronicles against the ethereal A Jasmine in
Twilight track from Pandit
Jasraj's Raga Symphony. For those eight minutes, I felt the entire
auditorium go empty, leaving me in the embrace of the musical
Vrindavan. Shobana's entry in her signature Krishna garb made me leap
for joy. For a few insane moments, it seemed she was doing the piece
for me and me alone, although the gasps from nearby spectators were
hard to miss. Despite the constricted stage-space, the dancers
whirled and twirled in flourishes, my Krishna painting the scene in
vivid splashes of yellow and blue. As the crescendo unravelled into
silken silence, each of us were left with a taste of the divine
within. I was too benumbed to scream for an encore.
After a brief interval, the show
resumed with a solo Dashavataram. Shobana-resplendent in a white and
gold costume with mural motifs- was at her histrionic superlative,
crisply recounting each of Vishnu's incarnations with eloquent
abhinaya. Her portrayal of the divine Boar (Varahavatara), the
odious Hiranyakashipu ( Narasimha-avatara), the egoistic Mahabali (
Vamana), the dilemmatic Sita ( rama) debating how not to incur the
disduised Ravana's anger without crossing the Lakshmana Rekha and the
sagacious Buddha remained in one's memory long after the performance.
She was joined by her students in the next piece, a novel Thillana
which combined Bharatnatyam and Mohiniattam. Even while the dancers
jostled for space on stage, they retained the fluid manoeuvres of the
traditional dance-forms. Seamlessly after the thillana, Shobana resumed
her solo 'Mahishasuramardhini' by way of a closing theme. The
performance took a meditative character with the tone of the piece
and the Shanta Bhava of the performance. The performance concluded
with the dancer paying obeisance to the audience and accompanists.
Up, close and Personal:
The Bald and the Beautiful!
This, my fifth opportunity to watch
Shobana live, is special for two reasons: One, it was on the
occassion of International Dance Day; Two the performance was held at
my hometown. I was in readiness: a (somehow stiff but detailed)
water-colour sketch of the artiste, my mom and close family friends
in tow and a steely resolve to converse with Shobana. We had to wait
for a while as the strained yet obliging organisers arranged for the
much- awaited backstage tryst. Meanwhile, her industrious students
deftly rolled up the heavy linoleum sheets that had been pasted to
the stage floor. I also caught a glimpse of a large printed suitcase
being moved from sidestage. Shobana was resting in the green-room
when we, alongwith another 20 or so fans, thronged inside.
Incidentally, another gentleman had brought a pencil sketch of
Shobana as a gift. All the jostling and 'Excuse me, exxcuse me,
excuuuuse me please...” among the crowd finally paid off when Shobana recognised me
and gave a muscial 'Hi....!” ( I was not too sure my
tonsured head got in the way of easy recognition). So, you belong
to this place?Good. After I
introduced mom and her liking of Mitr, My Friend, I extended the
painting to her with a peevish, “Akka, I'm afraid it's slightly
jaded..”, to which she responded,” No, no, let me
see..... It's Beauuutiful,”
she hummed, and added, “It's in action. Really
Beautiful.” And then came the
most memorable lines she ever told me , “ You know, we
performed the Ras Leela for you!”
Was the room spinning? “ I remember you mailing us for
it. I had asked Vidya to reply and, yeah, it was for you”
(I 'm not sure if those were the last few words, I was too dazed to
respond). A breathless “Thank You” was all I could manage. Ah, my
Krishna!
As a blessing, a total stranger ( whom
I had found volunteering at the entrance) obliged by clicking a
photograph of us- the poor chap had no clue who were my group, but he
still managed to capture us in a single frame.
I spent a few seconds chatting with Shobana's students Chithra Nair and Vidhya ( thanks Vidhya for telling me about Raga Symphony!) before joining my folks. Shobana passed by in a rustle of silk and gold and I ran down the stairs with her to point out that my painting was completed on the 18th of April. “ Yeah, I get what you are driving at”, came the sagely remark.
I spent a few seconds chatting with Shobana's students Chithra Nair and Vidhya ( thanks Vidhya for telling me about Raga Symphony!) before joining my folks. Shobana passed by in a rustle of silk and gold and I ran down the stairs with her to point out that my painting was completed on the 18th of April. “ Yeah, I get what you are driving at”, came the sagely remark.
Reflections:
Well, the euphoria's just about ebbing
off. I still can't get over the obsession for listening to 'Jasmine'
and can't help staring at the framed photos on the wall. I'm grateful
to Mr Sunil, Mr Ranjith and his team at kalakshetra for their
fortitude in making 'Opera'12' happen. Their efforts enabled a good
number of sincere and serious art-lovers from small-town Kannur to
witness a stellar performance. Go, guys, GO! It was a pity about the
stage and the crowd management though- Gokulam auditorium is light-years
away from JTPAC or the Music Academy but still... It was also
commendable that the show commenced on time. That the organisers'
commitment paid off was evident in the fact that Shobana chose to
perform longer than the promised 100 minutes- the show went on for a
full 130 minutes!
Well, all that I can now manage to say
is, “ENCORE!”
Special Acknowledgement: Sri Radesh P.T
for permitting me to use his photographs of Shobana.
