Sahitya Ramkumar & Srividya Anish come together for a unique show ‘Double Bill’

Sahitya Ramkumar, a Bharatanatyam dancer hailing from Hyderabad, has immersed herself in the art for the past 17 years. Dedicated to the continual refinement of her craft, she learns with various experienced teachers and scholars. Sahitya’s training extends beyond Bharatanatyam and includes training  in 
Kuchipudi. Notably, she has embraced the nuances of Karanas incorporating Natyasastra movements into her repertoire.

Currently pursuing a Master’s in Fine Arts with a focus on Bharatanatyam, Sahitya finds joy in both performing and choreographing her craft. Her Bharatanatyam repertoire titled  ममMargam, a Sahitykalpa production,was premiered to a full house in Hyderabad last year. The term मम translates to “my,” while Margam refers to the traditional Bharatanatyam repertoire, signifying a journey or path — this being Sahitya’s journey of self-love and extensive learning.

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मम Margam comprises distinct pieces, each choreographed by Sahitya, introducing four diverse languages, flavours, and emotions to the stage, featuring meticulously crafted choreographies that interpret and reinterpret exquisite poetic compositions inspired by the words of various scholars. The performance assures a wide spectrum of emotions, ranging from a poignant lullaby to a spirited foot-tapping abhang. “मम Margam is the result of a young dancer’s 17-year-old love affair with the art form of Bharatanatyam,” says Sahitya, adding, “Each piece holds a distinctive emotional resonance as they embody heart-touching poetry beautifully visualised within the Bharatanatyam idiom.”

On the other hand, fluid and lissome movements, graceful and neat nritta, poignant abhinaya with vivid expressions mark Srividya Anish’s performance. Her strong intuitiveness towards music and rhythm reflects in her choreography and  performance. Her early days of music were trained under Jayalakshmi and Bharath Mahadevan and Dr Mallika for veena. She is a student  of Kalaimamani Vishaka Hari, in her Vijayasri School of Harikatha, through which Srividya  was introduced to present a new genre of Nruthya Harikatha, which is a unique genre and a blended way of delivering Harikatha with dancing, singing and storytelling. “The dance form adopted here is Bharatanatyam where there will be nritta and abhinaya and that’s why this is called Nruthya Harikatha. This can also be seen as a revival of the very old traditional way of telling Harikatha with abinayams. I have been doing this in both Tamil and English on various topics around Bhagavatham, Ramayana and Bhaktacharitrams, Srividya says.

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Sahitya and Srividya are now bringing their performances for the show titled Double Bill. “The idea is to present two distinct pieces of work to the audience availing a single pass to the event. Srividya and I are artistes from Hyderabad. We are both deeply invested in our traditional art forms and what we enjoy most is telling stories through our crafts. While both forms are unique and completely different, the similarity in the two productions lies in the fact that they are deeply etched in Indian tradition, music, poetry and stories,” Sahitya tells us.

Tickets at Rs 250.

January 28, 4 pm. 
At Medai – The Stage, Alwarpet.

Email: rupam@newindianexpress.com
X: @rupsjain