Her attention to detail is remarkable and this accounts for the holistic nature of her presentation where every movement and every emotion is taken to its logical conclusion. You cannot help being moved by her sheer artistry; but the greatness lies not in her ability, but in her humility.

Govind’s vibrant stage presence and her aesthetic dress sense make for a potent combination, yet beyond all the energy one could sense some strain during her performance at Bharat Kalachar, Chennai. The wisdom of accepting many programmes during the season has always been a moot point with dancers, but spreading themselves thin only hurts their own performing standards in the end.

The varnam in ragamalika penned by mridangist Vijayaraghavan, inspired by Andal’s Nachiar Thirumuzhi, and tuned by Hariprasad of Kalakshetra, turned out to be a treatise of highly evolved nuances in dance well supported by excellent musical orchestration. The jathi patterns were most impressive and challenging in terms of use of time cycles, adavus and pace, and angularity and grace combined in good measure. Even the arudi was challenging. Besides the technical virtuosity, the sancharis depicting Andal and her yearning for Arangan of Srirangam, her appeals to her parrot and to the clouds to carry her message were particularly poignant. The story of Perialwar’s shocking discovery of Andal’s hair in the flower garland meant for the deity was also dealt with great sensitivity.

Govind’s abhinaya can be described variously as minimalistic and uncluttered with mudras, deeply embedded that it is in the stillness surrounding the mood. It is her distinctive style, her capacity to communicate using her eyes only- ‘netra abhinaya’ that involves a deep identification with the subject. But the total absence of mudras is also not a feasible option. Portions in the latter half of her bhakthi-sringara varnam suffered some ambiguity for want of clearer gesticulation.

The dancer presented her abhinaya pieces with an easy fluidity, two of which dealt with Krishna in different situations. The Marathi poem ‘Rusali Radha rusala Madhava’ was a light-hearted portrayal of a tiff between the eternal lovers, Krishna and Radha, and its effect on the entire town of Gokul. ‘Krishna Karnamritham’ slokhas described how the crowd reacted to Krishna as he walked into the ‘mallarangam’ for the wrestling match: some with awe or admiration, devotion, affection, or fear, each to his or her perception. A khandita nayika in ‘Yettai iranthe pesum’ was the final abhinaya piece.

The professional orchestra comprised of: nattuvangam- A.Lakshman, vocal- Deepu Karunakaran Nair, mridangam- G.Vijayaraghavan, and violin-Kalaiarasan. The individual contribution of each was noteworthy. Govind concluded with a thillana in Kadanakuduhallam ragam, Adi talam by Dr.Balamurali Krishna, her exhaustion now clear even in the slips in a hitherto well-maintained araimandi.