Reviving old traditions of kuchipudi is what Delhi-based dancer Aishwarya Meenakshi aims at. After completing her graduation in Applied Psychology from Gargi College, Delhi University; Aishwarya shifted to Thrissur to study under her guru Sreelakshmy Govardhanan. She also reallocated to Kuchipudi in Andhra Pradesh to learn from her guru’s guru Shri Pasumarthy Rattaiah Sharma, who specialises in the traditional repertoire of kuchipudi. She is also a recipient of the Senior Scholarship by CCRT, Ministry of Culture, Government of India, and a graded artiste by Doordarshan Kendra, New Delhi. The artiste, who is currently based out of Chennai, comes to the city for a live kuchipudi performance titled Sadhana. We chat with her to find out more.
“Naming the performance as Sadhana was something that was spontaneous. It was not planned for a long time. I was very familiar with the word, which means practice, because I have been doing it for a very long time now. So, what the audience will be witnessing on stage will be my sadhana, which will be showcased
in the form of a kuchipudi performance,”Aishwarya begins.
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Giving a peek into the performance, the dancer says, "I will be beginning with an invocation by Dr Balamuralikrishna's evergreen krithi Shri Sakala Ganadhipa, an exquisite choreography which expands the salutations to lord Vigneshwara, lord Hanuman and lord Krishna. With rich sahitya interspersed with rhythmic jathi patterns, this piece is set to meet the histrionic of kuchipudi."
"The second peice is called Madodhari Shabdam. It is an emportant element in the kuchipudi repotoire, which is in a story telling format. This performance begins with the devadasi praising the then king Sri Krishnadevararya. The devadasi later starts narrating a story describing a forest and its animals, which also had a Mandookam (frog) who gets transformed to a beautiful woman 'Mandodhari'. As Mandodhari wanders in the forest in excitiment of her new life, Ravana, the king of Lanka happens to see her and immediately falls in love with her beauty. Then the story progresses with his efforts to please her as her offers her many things. At last, losing his patience, Ravana joins all his 25 hands and surrenders himself to Mandodhari. Then he holds her hand and flies to Lanka with her on his Pushpaka Vimana," she adds.
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The performance also constitutes two other pieces — Sakhi Hey; an ashtapadi by Jayadeva which talks about the union of Lord Krishna and Radha. The performance ends with Tarangam; a performance where the dancer performs rhythmic choreography on the rim of a brass plate.
Talking about how her journey as a kuchipudi dancer began, she says, “My mother wanted to learn dance, so we found a kuchipudi teacher nearby. It was all a matter of convenience for me, so I took up kuchipudi and took it forward.” “Next up, I will be performing in Thrissur after my performance here in Bengaluru. That performance will be a kuchipudi yakshaganam; a dance drama,” she says, signing off.
March 31, 7 pm. At BIC, Domlur.
Email: alwin@newindianexpress.com
Twitter: @al_ben_so