It is nice to see dancers also exploring the emotions in Tygaraja’s compositions. One such attempt was Praveen Kumar’s ‘Tyagaraja hrt sadana’. Presented by his Bengaluru-based Chitkala School of Dance, it was an offering to Rama through the saint-poet’s kritis.
Conceived and choreographed by Praveen Kumar, the performance stood out for its aestheticism, imagination, abhinaya and nritta. They began with a shloka in praise of Tyagaraja –– ‘Vyaso naigama charchaya’ that compares him to Vyasa in the knowledge of the Vedas, to Valmiki in the choice of words, to Shukha Muni in renunciation, and to Prahlada in devotion. As the fragrance of Yadukula Kambhoji wafted through the strings of violin, they began ‘Sri Raama Jaya Raama, Shringaara Raama’ and brought out vatsalya rasa, veera rasa and shringara rasa.
‘Uyyaalaloogavayyaa’ was delightful, as Divya Hoskere as Kausalya showered her love on little Rama through her abhinaya and turned into the quintessential mother. ‘Sogasu jooda tharamaa’ portrayed sattvic romance as Shreema Upadhyaya as Sita, coyly exhibited her admiration for Rama’s good looks. Praveen Kumar as Rama was the embodiment of grace and poise.
‘Jagadanandakaraka’, the first Pancharatnam was the main item that was fully exploited to portray many of the incidents from the Ramayana. Rama-Ravana yudha was brought alive with powerful jathis, specially composed for this production. When they concluded with the thillana, an inexplicable joy.
