They opened with a Pancharatna Stuthi. An obeisance to the five dieties : Ganesha, Muruga, Shiva, Devi and Krishna. Jayanthi and Roja did justice to their Guru's crisp choreography and fast paced nuttuvangam. Bragha performed the varnam, 'Manavi Chekunaradha', in Sankarabarnam, Adi talam, a composition of the Tanjore Quartet. She was very light on her feet and completed every adavu without compromise. Her mobile face was an added bonus. It was a memorable experience, with the music, dance and nattuvangam, blending beautifully, and complementing each other.

Jayanthi delineated a padam with a parakeeya nayika, 'Moguduchi Pillachedu' in Sahana ragam, Misra Chapu talam. A nayika who is married young, forms an attachment with Krishna. Her husband then comes to fetch her. Her leave taking of Krishna is a very poignant moment filled with sadness, regret and an element of bhakthi. She says 'You will always be in my heart. Does distance matter? Like the sun nourishes the lotus flower, from so far away, similarly, thoughts of you will keep me going.' The singing was soulful and added to the mood of melancholy. Roja performed a padam in Bekada ragam, 'Yaarkakilum Bhayama'.' Is my relationship with my Lord a secret? When such a worthy one has chosen me, why should I be afraid? If I were royalty, would people talk like this?' goes the nayika. Bragha did a javali in Poorvikalyani, 'Neematale Mayenura'. A samanya nayika is angry with her nayaka. Having promised her jewels, he comes empty handed. She first welcomes him in, and is shocked when she sees he has brought nothing with him. She taunts him and says, 'What happened? Are your promises as permanent as words written on water?' The credit for all the abhinaya pieces goes to Smt. Kalanidhi Narayanan, under whom the dancers train too.

The finale was a tillana in Behag ragam, and misram , composed by Kadirvelu Pillai of Bombay. Good footwork marked this item. Guru Lakshmanan can take full credit for the dignified style of the dancers, their mastery over nritta, their anga shuddha and their confidence on stage. We are fortunate to be contemporaries of this great artist. The orchestra was par excellence. Lead by Lakshman himself, who did the nattuvangam and pitched in with the vocal support too, the other members were:K. Rama Rao and K.Nagamani Rao, brother and sister of Lakshman, for the vocal, K.Gopinath on the mridangam, Unnikrishnan on the flute, T.K.Padmanabhan on the violin, Kannan on the veena, and Lakshminarayanan on the tambura.

A UNITED EFFORT
ABHAI, the Association of Bharata Natyam artists of India, had a day long conference in Chennai recently. It began with young dancers exhibiting what they learnt in the ABHAI workshops through the year. There was a discussion on the guru-sishya relationship and its changing scenario. Guru Adyar K Lakshmanan and V P Dhananjayan together presented a talk on Humor in Dance. The day ended with dance presentations by a kaleidoscope of dancers.

Anita Ratnam began the evening show with a pushpanjali. Radha performed Manduka Shabdam, a piece choreographed by her guru, Late Ramayya Pillai. Lakshmi Vishwanathan with her forte on abhinaya presented two padams.