How Rama Vaidyanathan made an abhang the soul of her performance

How Rama Vaidyanathan made an abhang the soul of her performance

Rama Vaidyanathan performing on the inaugural evening of The Music Academy’s 2025 dance festival
Rama Vaidyanathan performing on the inaugural evening of The Music Academy’s 2025 dance festival
| Photo Credit: S. R. Raghunathan
The Music Academy’s dance festival began with a performance by Rama Vaidyanathan, who chose  compositions that gave a feel of the Bharatanatyam margam.  Verses from Tirumoolar’s Thirumandiram were used for Swaroopa, the first composition that focussed on the  principles of Indian philosophy, especially the omnipresence of the Supreme. She opted for cyclical movements to depict the seamless flow of life, which included the flora and fauna. The music was by Sridhar Vasudevan.A rare Ata tala varnam composed by Syama Sastri in Anandabhairavi was the central piece of the evening, for which the jathis were composed by mridangist Sumod Sreedharan. This varnam addressed to Varadarajaswamy of Kanchipuram followed the familiar theme of a nayika beseeching her sakhi to go and fetch her lord. Without divulging his name, she gives her sakhi clues to identify him. This was the most interesting aspect of the piece, where Rama’s depiction of the clues had a tinge of humour. But one expected an expansive treatment of the ideas from the senior dancer. However, mention must be made about the fine choreography of the Garuda Sevai ritual. Rama came into her own in the abhang.

Rama came into her own in the abhang.
| Photo Credit:
S. R. Raghunathan
The clincher of the evening was a Janabai abhang. Rama did complete justice to the song that speaks of the unabashed love of a woman who challenges societal norms. She says, “I will remove my veil, sing and dance in public. I am a courtesan and you are my paramour.” Laced with undercurrents of eroticism, Rama’s abhinaya was filled with  nuances that enriched her depiction. The devotion and strength of the woman was danced with fervour. Karthik Hebbar, who composed the music for the abhang in raag Jog, sang with emotion. His voice beautifully blended with the visual language. The evening culminated on a joyous note with ‘Rasa vilasalola kirtanam’, composed by Swati Tirunal in raga Kamboji. Violin support was provided by Vishwesh Swaminadhan, lights were by Murugan and the costumes were by Mohanapriyan of Apsaras Dance Company. Published – January 15, 2025 05:05 pm IST

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *