Last evening , I attended a classical dance program. Being a dance enthusiast, I have been to many before, but this one was truly special. Shyama Balachandran, a bright chirpy little girl who I had an instant connect with right since she was a 5 year old, has become a zesty , confident 18 year old and this dance program was her debut as a solo performer. Special moment indeed! This was also the first time that a marghazi festival was organized in Mumbai by Takshshila dance academy to encourage and provide a platform to artists and exponents of music and dance.
As Shyama took the stage for her first piece, Mallari, she looked a tad nervous yet technically near perfect. She was a bit conscious as any debutante would be but her confidence and gait made the audience empathize and be totally on her side. Especially some of the viewers who know her must have felt the same nervous excitement as her. And a special mention I have to make, of the very engaging smile she wore throughout the first piece, connecting and inviting the audience to be a part of the journey.
Each piece Shyama performed, had some memorable moments and some completely magical experiences, and at times, one was transported into a different world. The Varanam, a piece that is complex and requires both rigor in technique as well as abhinaya was very well rendered. The Varanam was followed by Padam, a pure abhinaya piece where the protagonist is dressing up and doing shringaar while musing over the amorous moments that she expects will follow.
Shyama depicted a range of complex emotions of a young woman anticipating the arrival of her lord, the desire that consumes her, the longing and yearning she feels, and the ultimate relationship between the atman and the paramatma which seeks unison and immortal energy through the path of love. The classic bharat natyam dance steps were rendered to perfection and The abhinaya for such deep emotions from someone so young was spell binding, making me forget I was watching a 18 year old.
The most memorable piece and my favourite was the one paying tribute to the guru. To my knowledge, For the first time ever in the world of Indian classical dance , Kabira’s dohas, were expressed in classic bharat natyam.
The famous doha, of ‘guru gobind dono khade, kaake lagun pai, balihaari guru aapne, gobind diye bataay’ expressed through absolutely fantastic abhinaya and dance was a fusion of elements from two very different worlds and yet both have the same reverence for the guru. It was quite surprising and impressive to see how well it came together.
This is not a review (I am a trained Bharat Natyam dancer but no expert), it is just my desire to share with you my experience as the audience and to tell the world, we have in Shyama , the promise and passion of a performer who will take forward the great tradition of Bharat Natyam and also be brave to push the envelope and experiment with newer renditions. Kudos to her ! Kudos to her Gurus!
