Every year, between the months of August and September, Natyarangam, the dedicated dance wing of Narada Gana Sabha, curates an annual thematic dance festival that is a much-anticipated event in the cultural calendar. This festival is renowned for its ability to bring together a slew of distinguished personalities from various fields, including musicians, dancers, and scholars, all converging on a single platform. The festival is a golden opportunity for young, talented dancers, allowing them to showcase their prowess while also giving them the creative liberty to conceptualize and present a full-length performance based on the chosen theme.
Each edition of the festival is distinct, featuring a fresh theme every year. The theme for this year’s festival, titled ‘Rithu Bharatham,’ centers around the six seasons. This theme has set the stage for artists to delve into the complex and layered facets of each season, using their imagination to the fullest. However, the festival committee’s guidelines, which encompassed a wide array of works ranging from Kalidasa’s classics to Sangam literature, and from Ragamala paintings to cultural festivals, posed a significant challenge for the dancers. The intricate demands made it difficult for the artists to fully capture the essence of each season. This specific framework also resulted in a somewhat repetitive pattern being observed in the performances over the course of the festival.
The festival commenced with Rama Vaidyanathan’s spellbinding performance titled ‘Vasantha Rithu’ (Spring). Rama ingeniously divided the season into five segments: Saumya (season of Equanimity), Punaravarthana (Rejuvenation), Kama roopini (love), Bahu Varnani (multi-hued), and Apeksha (hope). Through her depiction, she effectively highlighted the distinctions between day and night, enhancing visual imagery with a meticulously crafted soundscape. This included the organic sounds of scattering seeds to a rhythmic tanam melody and the use of swara passages to portray various flowers of the season, culminating in the image of the lotus flower, symbolizing goddess Saraswathi. Following this, a detailed rendition of the song ‘Saraswathi namosthuthe,’ composed by G.N. Balasubramaniam in raga Saraswathi, captivated the audience.
The presentation of Manmatha gliding gracefully on his vahana, the Parrot, was also remarkable. However, the extensive descriptions of cool breezes, swaying palms, birds, bees, peacocks, and deer, while initially captivating, slightly overstayed their welcome and diluted the mood. Other aspects, such as the Raas and the vibrant Holi festival colors, were well depicted, adding a diverse flavor to Vasantha Rithu as a newlywed season.
The soundscape conceived by S. Vasudevan was an auditory treat, pairing instruments like ghatam, kanjira, and sitar with appropriate ragas for various sequences, adding depth to the performances.
Next on the stage was Apoorva Jayaraman, performing ‘Grishma Rithu’ (Summer).
. Dressed in a unique costume with a waistcoat, Apoorva brought forth the figure of Manmatha once again. Drawing from Kalidasa’s ‘Ritu Samharam,’ she chose verses that vividly depicted Kamadeva. Representations of drooping sugarcane bows, wilting flowers, and a fatigued parrot encapsulated the lethargy and exhaustion typical of summer. Her poignant abhinaya sequence on water scarcity stood out, portraying a mother’s love as she quenches her child’s thirst with the last remnants of water before setting out on a long trek for more. Despite the myriad descriptions aiming to capture the summer essence, the extensive narratives somewhat overshadowed the vibrancy of the season. Even the costume color palette lacked alignment with the season.
Apoorva’s dance also incorporated rhythmic jathis depicting the scorching sun and fire, alongside swaras symbolizing peacocks, but the repetitive use of the same musical phrases throughout the performance was somewhat limiting.
As the focus shifted to a more theatrical mode, ‘Varsha — Harvest of Lost Dreams,’ presented by Vaibhav Arekar, took center stage. Vaibhav portrayed the rainy season through a captivating narrative, supported by an evocative soundscape and a talented musical ensemble. The performance, centered on a farmer’s relationship with nature, explored the emotions and situations stemming from this connection. Starting with the visualization of agricultural activities such as plowing and sowing, the narrative transitioned to the farmer’s anticipation of rain, followed by disappointment when the rains failed to arrive. This led to a depiction of anger and distress during the fierce monsoon, ultimately concluding with the farmer’s gesture of total surrender.
Vaibhav utilized graceful hand movements to convey an intimate connection, particularly in a standout scene featuring a figure under a spotlight. His use of dance elements like Jathi korvais and adavus beautifully conveyed the energy of the sun and the intensity of rain. Compositions by Dikshitar, Sangam poetry, and works by Kalidasa and Bharatiyar were seamlessly woven into the musical expression to support the narrative.
While the monsoon season typically evokes a sense of anticipation, joy, and excitement, this performance focused more on angst, anguish, and fury, depicting these emotions through a childhood memory, whereas happier emotions were only briefly touched upon.
The use of Ragamala paintings, traditionally a rich visual representation of seasonal moods and associated ragas, offered mixed results. Rama’s projected image of a painting frame depicted character roles, though not necessarily Ragamala. Apoorva split the image across three fabric panels, distorting its essence, and Vaibhav used straightforward projections as intermittent fillers. A more sensitive handling of this art form could have enhanced the overall aesthetic.
In conclusion, while Rithu Bharatham’s thematic focus on the six seasons provided a fertile ground for artistic exploration, some of the structural guidelines and creative choices indicated room for a deeper, more integrated approach. The festival succeeded in showcasing talent and creativity, ensuring that nature’s varied moods were given a place on stage, albeit with a few areas for refinement in future editions.
