Metro India News | Hyderabad 

Shankarananda Kalakshetra, a dance institution facilitated a brilliant Arangetram of Kumari Shreenidhi Ramaswamy and Kumari Shivani Nambiar, on Saturday at Ravindra Bharathi in Hyderabad. The evening was graced by eminent dignitaries from the world of classical dance. Disciples of Dr Ananda Shankar Jayant, Director Shankarananda Kalakshetra, the two young dancers, struck a chord with the audience from the very first moments.

The Arangetram became an immersive experience, into the magical world of Shiva and Vishnu through Bharatanatyam, Carnatic music and the devotional poetry of the many Vageyyakaras. The first half of the program was dedicated to Lord Shiva and was titled ‘Parvati Shankara Namostute’.

The two dancers dressed in striking purple entered the stage in a brisk Pushpanjali that then segued into a rare Shyama Sastry Kriti on Goddess Parvati. Guru Ananda, by weaving swaras into the Kriti, presented it in the format of a combined Jathiswaram and Sabdam following the Margam format that brought the beautiful Goddess Parvati and Her attributes to the audience, with crisp nritta and simple expressions.

From Parvati the dancers then took the audience to Lord Shiva, in the next piece, the magnum opus, the Varnam on Lord Shiva. Studded with complicated jati patterns and intricate mathematical calculations, this Varnam was a test of the dancers’ dedication, talent and performance.

Both Shreenidhi and Shivani rose to the challenge, with an impeccable performance, embellished with statuesque Nataraja postures, split second tala precision, and nuanced Abhinaya. The well trained and polished dancers delivered perfect and synchronized movements especially in the thrilling Ardhanareswara Jati in the second half of the Varnam that had the audience clap repeatedly. Guru Ananda Shankar Jayant, wielding the Nattuvangam with elan, was a delight to listen to. 

The second half took the audience to Vishnu and five Vaishnava Kshetras. Titled ‘Pancha Vaishnava Kshetra Darshanam’ the young dancers, led the audience to five revered Vaishnava Kshetras, dancing to the songs composed in the language of the region by devout vaggeyakaras of the respective Kshetra.

Beginning with Tirumala, the segment opened with the devotional prayer ‘Srinivas Govinda’ on everyone’s lips as the dancers climbed the Tirumala hills with specially choreographed movements to resemble climbing.