Depicting love with dance

Dancer Rathnakumar, a senior disciple of Vempatti Chinnasatyam and a Sangeetha Academy Award winner, presented a ‘Kuchipudi’ recital recently for Kala Pradarshini at the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan.She began her recital with Subramania Bharathi’s composition which is in praise of the Sun God. In the composition, the poet beautifully describes the Sun God’s love for  Mother Earth, resulting in an ‘awakening to a glorious morning’. Her abinaya was indicative of her experience and inner realisation.The opening number was followed by a composition of Annamacharya and an impressive ‘Bhava Abinaya’. She proved herself as a ‘refined dancer’ when she portrayed the episode with well planned emotions.In the Raga Vagadeeswari composition of Annamacharya (Nakkum Cheppare), she exhibited a fine pattern - out of the network of the two styles she has imbibed (Bharathanatyam and Kuchipudi) - and brought out what love really is! The mockery with which she dealt with the Nayaka, and the pangs caused by Manmatha were enacted brilliantly.Though the compositions of Annamayya were repeated, the quality of such invaluable compositions never created a dull moment. The Javali that followed Enthai Kuluke in Raga Kalyani clearly projected the feeling that the Nayika doesn't have any ambivalent feelings for the errant lover. This  was indicative of the fact that it was the dance of the ‘enchanters’.  Towards the end, Kanakangi Raga, a composition from ‘Yasodhara Vilapam’ composed by Vinjamuri Anusuya Devi (dancer’s mother), depicted sorrow and despair at Siddhartha’s sudden departure. No doubt, in this particular performance, Rathnakumar expressed her feelings really well with the help of the language of eyes and hands. But I still wonder, why the attire of the artiste did not conform to the established norms of Kuchipudi.