The dancer chose a Swarajathi in Pantuvarali ragam, Tisra Ata talam, 'Saanga bhaanga tu kara vuni ghe sarasa nesaghe suvasa nahi,' in which an older woman advises a young bride on how to win over her husband, who is none other than the ultimate 'Yadu vara'. An unusual theme, it was dealt with sensitivity and poise. The dancer's mood aptly demonstrated kindness and affection befitting an indulgent older woman. She counsels the new bride on how to retain her dignity at all times - advice that is relevant even today, 150 years later! The nritta was fast paced and the abhinaya for the sahitya passages was short and to the point. Sucheta has a distinctive charm about her that is endearing. Her energy is also noteworthy. The swarajathi had a fair bit of nritta- in the theermanams and in the adjoining swaras, which did not faze the dancer in the least. In this instance, the text contained details of the raga, tala, and the swaras.

Coming to the orchestra- Mangalam Murthy's voice and music was good but her diction was so poor that the effect of the marathi composition was lost. A flaw serious enough to mar the entire programme. Smitha Mahajan was the soft-spoken nattuvanar; she is also Sucheta's senior-most student. Shyam on the mridangam and Savita Sadashiv on the violin gave good support. Except for the mridangist, the musicians were all from Mumbai.

A padam by King Shahji dealing with an uttama khandita nayika, 'Sakhiyathe maza anyaaya kaaya' in Begada ragam as per the manuscript, was put together with the dancer's guru, late K.P.Kittappa's help. Regrettably, it was interpreted very literally. The nayika's husband returns home at dawn the next day. She is angry, but does not make a fuss. She speaks instead to her friend, 'What is my mistake? He looks annoyed with me...I only showed him a mirror when he came in, as a dutiful wife would do...' Was she being sarcastic or naïve? That aspect was unclear.

A thillana by Mysore Seshanna in Chenchuruti ragam, Desh-Adi talam followed. Sucheta finished with a devotional piece by the Maharaja in Madhyamavati ragam, 'Dheena mhoona daya kari deva'. The king surrenders himself to Tyagesha saying that none of my worldly possessions is of use to you; all I can offer you is myself.

The dancer left the audience thirsting for more. Sucheta seemed more keen on her nritta than on her abhinaya, or the background details of these works of earlier generations of artists. We could perhaps have had samples of some other compositions too. We could do with further education regarding our rich cultural heritage.