Bharata Natyam envisages not only impeccable execution of footwork but also communication of various emotions through the eyes, hands and face of the performer.
Young Nikita Patel vivaciously demonstrated these qualities at her Arangetram held at the Genesis Theatre (Telstra Clear Pacific Events Centre) in Manukau on September 29, 2012.
I was gob smacked by her exhilarating performance. She enthralled the audience with her repertoire after nearly a decade of intense training. It was a proud moment for her parents Dr Mahesh and Radhika Patel as well as her tutor Kalaichchelvi Udayakumaran (Selvi), Director of Narthana Alayam School of Indian Dance.
Selvi has carved a niche for herself in the firmament of Bharatha Natyam in Auckland, with 29 Arangetrams and several other programmes to her credit.
Nikita began her public debut with ‘Panchamurti Sthotram,’set in Malika Ragam and Malika Thalam), followed by Jathiswaram’’ (Malika, Misrachapu), ‘Kauthuvam’ (Shanmughapriya, Adi) and Varnam (Shankaraparanam, Adi).
The ‘Varnam’ was 40-minute rendition of this ancient South Indian art, which displayed Nikita’s endurance, exuberance and breathtaking performance.
Her dance, embellished by a superb team of support artistes encouraged the 650-strong audience to applaud each item.
My pick of the evening was ‘Perani Natyam,’ in which Nikita danced to the beats of the percussion instruments balancing on top of the clay pot. While performing this unique item, the artiste was in her elements, empowered by exciting rhythms and throbbing movements of limbs.
Nikita’s most impressive item in the second part of the Arangetram was arguably ‘Padam (Shenjurithi’, Adi), during which her hand gestures and expressions through her face and eyes narrated the story of a ‘Gopika’ complaining to Krishna’s mother the various pranks of the Lord.
The dancer brought to the fore Gopika’s love, passion, longing and mischievousness of Lord Krishna.
A third-year medical student at Auckland University’s School of Medicine, Nikita evinces interest in Tennis, Cricket, Music, Piano, Violin, ancient Indian scriptures and Vedic Heritage.
She is also a volunteer at local rest homes and Hospice. She is also interested in attending discourses on ancient scriptures and Vedic heritage.
The accompanying ensemble were Selvi (Nattuvangam), Gomathi Nayagam ( Vocal), Senthilkumar Govindaraj (Mirudangam), Ramesh Nagarayan (Flute), Manjit Singh (Tabla) and Shankar Venkatraman (Violin).
Joseph Kuriakose, aka Jomichen is a teacher by profession with teaching experience in African countries including South Africa. As well as fine arts, he has a penchant for political and literary analysis.
