2017 Oct - Veena Concert by Nirmala Rajasekar

Veena- Nirmala Rajasekar 

Violin - VVS Murari 

Mridangam - Thanjavur Murugabhoopathy

Kanjira – Dr. S. Ramakrishnan

We had to miss the 2017 Navarathri in South Florida as we celebrated our Shashti Abda Poorthi in India during that time.  So, how is life after 60?  Our good family friend Dr. Shanthi Sundaram told me “A new life starts after 60 and this part of your life is really the most important part”.  Wow, really?  The truth in that statement hit me quite hard.  Till now we built a family, brought up the kids, built a career, took in a lot of stress, music/dance/Tae Kwon Doe lessons for the kids, arangetrams and performances, traveled several million miles, chased growth at the expense of the health etc. – basically the usual stuff everyone goes through.  In spite of all these activities, thankfully, we found some time for religion and spirituality.  But now it is time to clearly refocus my life.  After all, how many more years in this planet?  Clearly, the road traveled is longer than the road ahead in this life.  So, make every step count.  I am thankful to all the Guru’s in my life, in person or virtual, who laid the foundation for my spiritual path and religious path.  Over the years, these Gurus have built an unshakeable faith in Advaita Vedanta and Hindu Religious practices within me.  It will be up to me to fan the spark, grow within and prepare for next life.  I seek the blessings of all those who are further ahead of me in the path and I want to draw inspiration from everyone I meet.  Ok, let us go to the concert.

Veena concert is a rare occasion, especially for those of us living outside of India.  In talking to the artists and other musicians I learned that Thanam has a special place in Veena concerts.  If I may say so, Nirmala played Ragam-Thanam-Krithi in place of Ragam-Thanam-Pallavi in Purvi Kalyani as the main piece.  The Thanam part was elaborate and the percussionists joined in to give us a treat.  Overall, the concert had captivated the audience – where did the stress go.  When a musician connects with the audience you know it is going to be divine.  The artist was able to express the emotions within the song with the instrument which made all the difference.  It had a good mix of melodious songs, fast songs and popular songs.  It was nice to have both Mridangam and Kanjira – the transition between Veena/Mridangam to Violin/Kanjira was seamless and flawless.  There were times they mixed it up as well – nice.  Everyone went away with a smile on their face – great job.  Let us go to song by song.

Sahana varnam/Adi - Beautiful choice of ragam to start the concert. Very captivating rendition. Fingers flying through the instrument at the second speed. With seasoned accompaniments it was a treat

Jaya jaya in Natai/Khanda Chapu – beautifully gliding through the notes. She suddenly picked up the microphone to sing a few lines – it was a pleasant surprise.  Later we found out that she is a seasoned vocalist as well and it clearly showed.  Mridangam and Kanjira fell in sync from the get go. Great to see the musicians enjoying themselves a sure sign of a good concert. Very elaborate swarams with seamless handoffs between veena and violin and correspondingly between mridangam and kanjira. 

Raghuvamsa Sudha in Kadana kuthuhalam/Adi – Veena is probably the best instrument for this song. Made the audience happy with this toe-tapping number - beautifully rendered. 

Rama nee samanam Evaro in Kara Kara Priya/Rupakam – I will be honest here – this is not exactly my favorite ragam.  This ragam and song made a lot of musicians and hard core music lovers very happy.    One of these days I grow enough in appreciating music to develop a taste for this ragam, sorry for now, I muscled through the song.

Meenakshi mamava in Purvi Kalyani/Adi – Very enjoyable alapana with some beautiful phrases. Violin rose to his full height during alapana.  Some parts of the alapana was very meditative and touched many hearts.  Unexpectedly she went to play Thanam and Mridangam/Kanjira joined in.  Very enjoyable interaction between the percussionists.  When she went into the Krithi we were just spellbound.  At many places she sang along with the Veena - great.  Neraval and swarams took us to a different level – no sign of stress. 

Enna thavam seithanai in Kapi/Adi – Effortless playing.  Brought out the emotions of the song. 

The concert ended with an Annamacharya keerthanai in Revathi followed by the ever popular Ragee Thantheera and finally a Thiruppugazh.

2017 Jun - Sanjana Chandran Violin Concert

Sanjana Chandran successfully completed her solo violin Arangetram (more like an awesome concert) on Jul 17, 2017 at the Rose and Alfred Miniaci Performing Arts Center in Fort Lauderdale, FL. 

Sanjana just completed middle school and will be going to ninth grade.  Many of us in South Florida has seen her grow into this fantastic talent.  Clearly Sanjana is the best Carnatic Violin talent in North America in her age group and even above her age group.  Sanjana is a prodigy, period – God bless her.  Jayanthi joins me in showering our blessings to this talented child.  May Sanjana get everything her heart desires and continue to grow her musical abilities.

I have often wondered how prodigies come into being.  One can argue Sanjana’s dad, Sanjay Chandran, is an awesome violin player and the daughter is following his footsteps.  We have also seen mother handing down dance talent to her daughter.  But there is something more to it than just family background.  We have seen talent does not always get handed down generation to generation and we have also seen talents come out of unlikely places.  So, how does this work?  The answers are in Hindu Scriptures, more specifically in Vedantic texts.  We are all born with certain tendencies – the technical term used for tendencies is “Vasanas”.  The belief is that we choose to be born in an environment conducive to fulfil our vasanas.  These vasanas exert pressure on each of us to take up certain fields and if there is encouragement we blossom.  Just imagine if Sachin Tendulkar was forced to play volley ball the world would have lost a top cricketer.  Even if we don’t get the encouragement early on, the vasana pressure is relentless and it will come out later in life when we least expect it.  So, as parents, we should all watch for the natural talent exhibited by our kids and provide our support.  It could be in the field of mathematics, writing, music, sports, computers, science or whatever.  Each kid is unique with specific innate talent.  Our congratulations to Sapna and Sanjay for spotting and nurturing Sanjana with her skills.  All right – let us go to the concert, I am going to stop calling it an Arangetram.

Sanjana played with seasoned percussion players Dr. S. Ramakrishnan on the Mridangam and Dr. Ravi Balasubramanian on the Ghatam.  But she was not intimidated at all – in fact Sanjana overshadowed them with her sheer skill.  Sanjana demonstrated that she clearly understood the ragas she was presenting masterfully.  Music is all about conveying emotions and Sanjana clearly understood that when presenting the songs.  The song choices were fantastic and the ragas had the entire spectrum from speed to being meditative.  Entire audience was completely engrossed in the performance and Sanjana enjoyed playing every song.  The main piece was in Sankarabharanam, a real delight with all the accoutrements – an elaborate alapana, neraval, swaras and thani.  After watching a lot of reality shows we have all become critics, but none of us could find even a single instance of off-key in Sanjana’s violin.  In the second half, we were joined by Sanjana’s cousin Agasthya on the flute – another pure delight.  Agasthya was only 11 years old and what a joy, God bless you.  We learned a lot from the MC, Sunita, who kept us engaged through the concert.

Varnam in Todi/Adi – Era napai 

Very melodious start to the concert.  Sanjana picked up confidence as she went on.  Nice transition from first to second kalam (speed).

Sri Maha Ganapathi Rava Thuma in Gowle and Mishra chapu 

Sanjana has settled down and is completely relaxed.  She was very comfortable with the ragam.  Very elaborate song with beautiful swarams.

Akhilandeshwari in Dwijawanthi/Adi

Really beautiful alap that captivated the audience.  Start of the song sounded like a seasoned professional.  Expression was so amazing it brought tears to my eyes.  It was clear she enjoyed playing the song.  Connected with the audience with the emotion in the song and once that happens, ladies and gentlemen, it is real music.

Gnanamu sagarada in Purvikalyani and Rupakam

Wow, no other words.  Deft handling of the bow.  She knew the intricacies of the raga well.  Sometimes it felt like there were two violinists on stage one for each percussion artist as she switched between octaves for Ghatam and Mridangam.

Bhogendra sayeenam in Kundalavarali and Kanda Chapu

This is always a crowd pleaser being a fast number and Sanjana played it elegantly.  Felt like we were sitting in front of a seasoned artist. 

Ka Va Va in Varali and Adi

Sanjana’s expression during alap is remarkable.  This song is in a pleading tone inviting Lord Muruga.  She brought out that emotion as meant by the poet.  She completely overshadowed the seasoned percussionists and they were happy to be overshadowed.  The song put the entire audience in a meditative mood.

Brova baramma in Bahudari and Adi

This was another fast number.  The Professors, I mean the Percussionists, seemed to enjoy themselves. Lot of scope for them in the song. 

Saroja dala nethri in Sankarabharanam and Adi

I just stopped taking notes and being completely engrossed in the beauty of the song.  Sankarabharanam is considered one of the “ghana” ragas and it has been played for eons by stalwarts.  The expectation is always very high when this raga is chosen.  The artist will have to put their full into it and show that they understand the nook and cranny of the raga.  Sanjana did complete justice to this raga and song.  She started with a bright alap and went into the song confidently.  The swaras and neravals were at a professional level. 

Thani

Just awesome by the dynamic percussion duo. 

Manavyala kim chara in Nalinakanthi and Adi

During this song Agasthya joined in with his Flute.  Sanjana by now owned the stage and she was a picture of confidence. Effortless delivery, nicely done.

RTP in Keeravani and Kanda Jathi Triputai

Very mature alapana and very soulful.  Flute alapana blew every one away making us look for Gopi's and cows to come through the doors anytime.  They both took us to a meditative state bringing the thoughts down to practically zero state. 

The concert closed with Krishna nee begane baro in Yamuna kalyani and mishra chapu, Chinnanchiru kiliye in raga malika, English note and finally Bhagyatha lakshmi baramma.

2017 May - Amrita Murali Concert

Vocal - Amrita Murali

Violin – R.K. Shriramkumar

Mridangam – Arun Prakash

President Trump is a head scratcher even for hardened conservatives.  Sure many Americans were disheartened by the corruption in Washington, deadlock in Congress, sky high deficit and deep polarization in the country.  Many in the country were downright angry at the establishment.  We definitely needed a change.  We needed a leader who can unite the country, break up the log jam and get things done.  But, Trump?!  It seems like we are hitting a new low every day.  Where are we headed – international disgrace, impeachment, escalation of conflicts around the world?  Where are the leaders in this great nation?  I would love for this nation’s youngsters to be motivated to take leadership roles and bring creative solutions.  In Bhagavad Geetha, Lord Krishna talks to Arjuna about Karma Yoga which is the practice of selfless service.  One may disagree with India’s PM Narendra Modi as he is not perfect.  It takes a lot to grow in Indian politics.  But Modi is definitely trying hard to fit the mold of being a Karma Yogi.  King Janaka is another role model serving the kingdom as a Raja Rishi, an ascetic while being a king.  Is there a Karma Yogi or a Raja Rishi out there willing to enter US politics?

Alright – enough of my lamenting.  While the politics can make your heart sink, a concert like Amrita Murali’s can be very healing.  Let me start with the last song first – Kurai Onrum Illai which means there is no shortcoming which aptly describes the concert.  I am not sure if it is just me, the concert put me in a meditative mood.  Thought there were some fast numbers during the concert the slow ones stood out.  I was never a fan of Todi in afternoon concerts but Smt. Amrita’s rendition was a spiritual experience.  She was not afraid to experiment throughout the concert.  The slow rendition of a song in Hindolam was fascinating.  Amrita’s voice was bold, confident, and rich which captivated the entire audience.  The team as a whole was highly skilled and I would say they were evenly skilled and most importantly they came together for an awesome listener experience.  Clearly one of the best concerts I have attended.  If Amrita comes to your town give her a try you won’t be disappointed.  Let us go to song by song discussion.

Shankaram abhirami in Maya Malawa Gowle/Adi – Free flowing rendition in a very mature voice. Swaras were fantastic. Violin showed his experience. Awesome start

Orajupu jo- Kannada Gowle/Adi – What confidence.  Just blown away  

Paratpara in Vachaspathe/Adi – Excellent alapana showing control over voice and command over raga.  Amrita brought out a lot of energy from the inside. Neraval in “Ari Ayanum kaana” kept the audience captivated and the swaras were well rendered. 

Neerajakshi kamakshi in Hindolam/Tisra Ekam – Got us in a meditative mood.  Mridangam played using just the thoppi for a while matching the mood.  Sounded like vilambit in Hindustani. 

Nannu kalla dalli in Kesari/Adi – Brisk number. Good mix of speeds handled by the artists 

Main Piece: Ninne Namminanu Sadaa in Todi/Mishra chapu – I usually like Todi in evening concerts as many artists have put me to sleep with Todi in afternoon concerts.  But this team made me change my mind with their genuine love for the ragam.  It was very meditative and flawless with remarkable control in slow speeds.  Mridangam was very inspiring.  Slow and deliberate neraval on “kancha dalayakshi kamakshi” showed control and thorough enjoyment by the artists which in turn led to our enjoyment. 

Sharaday karunanidhe in Hamir Kalyani/Mishra chapu – This is a favorite ragam for many even the ones who are not Carnatic rasikas.  Nice rendition 

RTP in Kapi with a special pallavi that is apt for Mother's Day.  I did not quite understand the technicalities presented but it was pleasing.  Nice ragamalika section – with my favorite Dwijawanthi. 

Jagado Dharana in Kapi/adi (2) – Heart touching rendition 

Finished the concert with a ragamalika song, a bhajan on Panduranga, a Bengali song and finally Kurai Onrum Illai.  Many of these songs were popularized by MS Amma.

2017 Mar - Violin Concert by Shri M. Chandrasekaran

Violin M. Chandrasekaran and G. Bharathi 

Mridangam S. Ramakrishnan 

Effective meditation is when one forgets the body and mind and transcends to a realm that is not describable in words.  Listening to a concert from the violin Maestro, Sangeetha Kalanidhi, Shri M. Chandrasekaran is equivalent to achieving a deep state of meditation.  As soon as he puts his bow to the violin the entire audience transforms into that state. Such is his magic touch.  Please read through the commentary written by our community youngsters Sanjana Chandran and Sharada Ramakrishnan.

Sanjana Chandran - 8th grader at Eagles Landing Middle School

On Friday, March 31, Sangita Kalanidhi M. Chandrasekaran and Smt. G. Bharathi, accompanied by Dr. Ramakrishnan gave an unforgettable violin concert at the Shiva Vishnu Temple in South Florida. The artists were very engaging and connected with the audience.

The concert started off with Vatapi Ganapatim, a well-known krithi in Ragam Hamsadwani. The korvai at the end of the Kalpana Swaram was elaborate and the fact that the violinist could not look at the taalam, yet played it so well, really astonished me. The next song was Anupama Gunaambudhi in Ragam Atana. The kala pramanam that the duo played was different from what I have heard previously and was very refreshing.  Then the concert ventured off into very emotional songs very dear to me. The duo played Akilandeswari in Ragam Dvijavanti and Manavyalakinchara in Ragam Nalinakanti. The kritis were very nicely ornamented. The main piece was a Ragam Thanam Pallavi in Simhendra Madhyamum. The artists brought out the richness of the Ragam in the alapana and the thanam rendition. In the Thani, Dr. Ramakrishnan uncle played some complex rhythmic patterns and it was energetic. After the RTP, the duo played some popular thukadas such as Baro Krishnayya. In one of the thukadas, Mr. M brought out the nuances of the song by imitating bird calls on his violin. The artists concluded the concert with Bhagyada Lakshmi Baramma.

I was especially keen on attending this concert since the main artists are my good friend, Sahana’s grandfather and aunt and I was so glad I did. Overall the artists presented a marvelous program of Carnatic music appealing to all who attended.

Sharada Ramakrishnan, graduate in Mathematics from Emory University

I left this concert with a feeling of inspiration and gratitude. While the artists all demonstrated mastery of their instruments and of Carnatic music, Chandrasekaran Mama and his team brought to the stage an understanding of what music truly is: enjoyment. He was unreservedly encouraging of the artists and of the audience. After a few songs, some attendees asked that he not announce the names of raagams so students would have a chance to practice identifying them. He was overjoyed by this news: “Full knowledge students here! Romba sandosham!” The environment was open and inviting. By the end of the performance, the line between the stage and the hall was no longer relevant: we were all a part of Chandrasekaran Mama’s team.

2016 Jul - Keerthika Ravikumar Bharathanrithyam Arangetram

Keerthika Ravikumar (Keerthi) successfully completed her Bharathanrithyam Arangetram on Jul 23, 2016 at the beautiful Rose and Alfred Miniaci Performing Arts Center in Ft. Lauderdale, FL.

Let me start with a small episode that took place a few years ago.  Ravi and Usha brought Keerthi to our house for a function.  During dinner as usual I was serving water to everyone.  Keerthi said “Uncle, I should be serving water to you!”.  How thoughtful?  I said “There will be a time you will return the favor”.  Performing her Arangetram Keerthi has gone beyond returning that favor!  Thank you, Keerthi!

Overall, Keerthi’s strength is her bhavam or the display of emotions.  Sangeetha Sridhar, the teacher, turned out another one of her gems.  Keerthi has very strong posture, forms and strength because of her training in Martial Arts.  All the same she can act out a scene with grace.  Sangeetha played it to Keerthi’s strength.  It was like watching a colorful bundle of joy moving through the stage painting a beautiful picture for the audience.  Keerthi had a permanent and genuine smile on her face through the entire program.  Keerthi, with the able guidance of Sangeetha, managed to blend the subtle moves of Bharathanrithyam with high kicks of mixed martial art.  It was a joy for the entire audience.

Let us go to song-by-song:

Thodayamangalam – traditional invocatory song seeking the blessings of the greatest dancer and dance master of all, Lord Shiva.

Pushpanjali in Gambeera Nattai/Adi – Salutations and floral offering to mother earth, guru, god, musicians and the audience.

Sri Ganesha Charanam in Thilang/Adi – worship of Lord Ganesha the remover of obstacles.  The song had a few opportunities for Keerthi to show her skills in abhinaya (acting).  Nicely done

Iruvinai Irul Agatrum in Hamsadhwani/Adi – the song was written by a South Florida resident, Dr. Venkataraman Balu on the Lord Surya.  The song depicted the devotees praying to Sun God for good health, success and prosperity. 

Varnam in Simhendra Madhyamam/Adi – this is the main piece depicting various stories of Goddess Meenakshi.  Varnam in any traditional margham (sequence of dances) is the most difficult piece testing the endurance and all aspects of dance.  Keerthi beautifully enacted the stories of Goddess Meenakshi in the song.  Meenakshi was born to a king in Madurai in South India after a penance.  She comes to life from a sacred fire (homam) as a three-year old child and the king brings her up as a son teaching her the warfare etc.  She kills the evil king who was trying to conquer her kingdom and finally vanquishes the demon Mahishasur.  These are difficult pieces requiring Keerthi to show anger in her face.  Story telling is an important of successfully completing the Varnam.  Keerthi is passing the test in flying colors – literally and figuratively.

Aarupadai Veedamarnda in Ragamalika/Adi – Keerthi takes us on a tour of Tamil Nadu showing the six main temples of Lord Muruga.  Each temple has its own unique characteristics.  Very nicely depicted.

Theruvil Varana in Khamas/Rupakam – in this song the heroine is waiting for her Lord.  You can imagine the scope for abhinaya and bhavam in this song.  Keerthi does full justice to situation – nice work.

Thillana in Nalinakanthi/Adi – fast paced number that suited very well for Keerthi’s personality.  Thillana has several combinations of steps and tastefully placed pauses.  During these pauses the dancer will stop to give a pose.  It is very enjoyable to watch.  Nice choreography which is always an expectation in a dance arranged by Sangeetha.

The performance ended with a Thiruppugazh song in Shanmugapriya/Misra Chapu and Mangalam

Jayanthi aunty joins me in blessing Keerthi for a successful college experience at Mercer and get everything her heart desires.  Lots of love.

2016 Aug - Dikshitha Shankar - Bharathanatyam Arangetram

Congratulations to Dikshitha Shankar on the successful completion of her Bharathanatyam Arangetram on Aug 14, 2016 at the Sunrise Civic Center in Sunrise, FL.

First, enjoy the write-up of Manusri Viswanathan who is also a student of the same art.  The write-up shows Manusri’s depth of understanding of the art and will soon be performing her own Arangetram.  We are truly blessed in South Florida to have such talented teachers and eager students.

“Dikshitha Shankar performed and completed her bharatanatyam arangetram tonight. During this graduation, she showed a variety of nrittha (beat), abhinaya (expressions), and mudras (hand gestures). Dikshitha performed with precise footwork that coordinated well with the mridangam and nattuvangam. Through the varnam and padams, she conveyed various emotions in devotional pieces. She demonstrated Parvati's love for Shiva in her varnam combined with complicated nrittha portions. Dikshitha's dedication and the excellence of her instruction was evident in her crisp footwork and good technique. She was a great debut performer for Nrityalaya School of Dance USA under her guru Shilpa Krishnan - Manusri”

Congratulations to two key individuals are in order.  First to the teacher Shilpa Krishnan, as Manusri said this is the first Arangatram from Shilpa’s school, Nrityalaya.  Second, of course, to Dikshitha Shankar.  The dance style, choreography and the arrangement of song sequences were very different from what South Florida audience was accustomed.  For example, Alarippu had included in it a brief scene enactment and then came right back to the pure nritta aspect of the dance.  Thillana was beautifully punctuated with a lot of sculptured poses.  Varnam was clearly the highlight of the performance with a unique Ragamalika song with the names of Ragams cleverly disguised as part of the lyrics – made us all listen intently.  There were many firsts in this Arangetram and the credit goes to guru-sishya (teacher-student) the dynamic duo.

Dikshitha’s arangetram will be one of the memorable performances from South Florida students. For Dikshitha the dance came out from a place very deep inside her.  The dancer felt it, the musicians felt it, dance teacher felt it and the audience felt it.  We could all see it as well that Dikshitha thoroughly enjoyed the dance.  The other thing with the performance was that it kept getting better as the evening wore on.  One noteworthy feature of the entire performance was Dikshitha’s arai mandi posture or half sitting posture – this made the dance very pleasing to watch.  Having brought up a dancer in our household I know how difficult this is – kudos to both Shilpa and Dikshitha.  When it was time to end the performance Dikshitha could have started all over and give another performance – such was the energy.

Dikshitha, you mentioned that you had to overcome a lot of obstacles to reach this stage.  But whatever they are or whomever they may be – be thankful.  Without them you may not have given such a stunning performance.  You made your parents and your teacher very proud and in fact you made the entire community proud with your achievement.  Jayanthi aunty joins me in showering our blessings.  I am very happy that you have decided to take on dance as a minor in college.  Wish you the very best.

The singer Madhu Chandrasekar gave a superb performance especially in the varnam ably accompanied by Sri Venupuri Srinivas on the mridangam and Sri Guruprasad Kathavate on the flute.  Nattuvangam was of course by the teacher, Shilpa Krishnan

Song sequence, for the record –

Thodaya Mangalam followed by a Kauthuvam on Lord Ganesha

Alarippu – pure dance item showing that the dancer has mastered the fundamentals.

Jathiswaram in Hamsanadam/Rupakam – beautiful choreography

Sabdam in Ragamalika/Misra Chapu – dancer shows lot more abhinaya (acting out) in combination with pure dance

Varnam in Ragamalika/Adi – great piece with a lot of beautiful ragams including Todi, Mohanam, Shankarabharanam etc. 

Appan Avatharitha in Karaharapriya/Adi – story of Ayyappa

Karunai Pozhiyum in Hamsanandhi/Adi – song was written by one of South Florida’s beloved Mrs. Kamu Ayyar.  A song on the sage of Kanchi

Aduvum Solluval a Padam in Sourashtram/Adi – a social scene of trivial gossip

Thillana in Rageshri/Adi – excellent choreography

Finally Kurathi in Ragamalika/Adi – a gypsy dance excerpted from Kuttrala Kuravanji

2016 May - Kuchipudi Dance Performance by Deepika Potarazu

Kuchipudi dance performance by Deepika Potarazu

Vocal and Nattuvangam – DSV Sastri

Vocal – Lakshmi Narasimha

Violin – Melakkaveri K Thyagarajan

Mridangal – Guru Bharadwaj

Let me introduce two young writers Anika Krishnan and Aditi Krishnan who are in sixth grade and eighth grade respectively.  I was captivated by their deep understanding of the intricacies of the art form being dancers themselves.  I enjoyed their writing style and fearless expression of their opinions.  Kudos, Anika and Aditi!  Also, below is an introduction to Kuchipudi by their mother and dance teacher Shilpa Krishnan.

“The style that the dancer performed, Kuchipudi, is rather different from the style of dance I learn which is BharataNatyam. However, I did see a few things in common such as her posture, araimandi (half sitting), and abhinaya or expressions. What I especially liked about her performance was her exquisite abhinaya. These small and delicate gestures are very important. They convey the story that the composer is trying to communicate, and portray the emotions of the characters the dancer is imitating.

I thought Deepika’s costume and attire were very attractive and suited the performance really well. Also, many of her dances were on Krishna which allowed a lot of room for stories.

Overall I think that this program was a great success and gave me a chance to appreciate a different yet equally beautiful form of dance.”

By: Anika Krishnan 6^th Grade

-----------------------------------------------------------------

“I was really excited to watch a dance performance at the temple for the Spring season finally! I wish we had more dancers perform.  I loved that it was Kuchipudi since we typically see a lot more BharataNatyam programs.

I thought Deepika danced really well overall. I noticed immediately the similarities and differences in the dance styles. Kuchipudi has some unique movements and aspects of Nritta that were immediately obvious to me.  Some of the hand gestures she used are also components of BharataNatyam but not used as liberally as in Kuchipudi.  The footwork was also structured differently although the tala structure and sollu (rhythmic recitations) were the same.

I especially enjoyed the ashtapadi for a couple of reasons.  I liked the playful abhinaya she exposed in the item and also the ragamalika aspect of the song.”

By: Aditi Krishnan 8^th Grader

----------------------------------------------------------------

About Kuchipudi:

Kuchipudi is the classical dance form from the South-East Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.  It derives its name from the village of Kuchelapuram, a small village about 65 kms from Vijaywada.  It is known for its graceful movements and its strong narrative/dramatic character.  Kuchipudi as we know it today acquired its present form in the 20th century.  A number of people were responsible for moving it from the villages to the performance stage.  One of the most notable was Guru Lakshminarayan Shastry.  After him, a number of other luminaries would mould it into its present shape.  Some notable names are Vempati Chinna Satyam, C.R. Acharyalu, and Dr. Nataraja Ramakrishna. –

By: Mrs. Shilpa Krishnan – dance teacher from South Florida

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Let me start with the orchestra first.  Right from the invocation song mridangam captivated the audience.  The sound filled the auditorium and was apt for a dance performance.  The voice of Sri DSV Sasthri was deep and confident.  The other vocalist Lakshmi and violinist were subdued but very effective throughout the concert.  It was an effortless performance by the entire team through and through.

Sri Ganapathim in Sourashtram - good start to the program

Sanchara Adhara in Ragamalika – Performance picked up momentum in this song and the dancer never looked back.  Here the dancer, Deepika, had a lot of scope for abhinaya and bhava.  The dancer was completely immersed into the song, switching the show emotions from minute to minute.  Beautifully done.

Varnam – Omkara in Shanmugapriya – violin alapana to begin with was classy.  The song depicted how everything emanated from Omkara including shruthi, layam and ganam.  The song was composed by Sangeetha Kalanidhi Sri M. Balamuralikrishna.  Again, beautifully delivered.

Etuvanti Vade Vadu in Kalyani and Mishra Chapu – another dance on Krishna’s childhood episodes.  The mischief of Krishna was acted out beautifully. 

Finally the Thillana in Hamsanandi – lots of energy and great footwork.  Deepika kept the audience in rapt attention through the entire concert.

Thanks to the Potarazu family who used to live in South Florida several years ago for coming back to give this wonderful performance.