By Lavanya Narayanan
10 November 2016
The ninth day of the festival was all about visual arts, including collaborations between Bharatanatyam artists and musicians. The two surrounded another presentation by Umayalpuram K. Sivaraman titled ‘Samanvayam.’
The program was followed by Umayalpuram Sivaraman’s second offering of the festival, ‘Samanvayam.’ Translated as ‘Synthesis,’ Sivaraman described the program in the following line:
“In Unity, there is Diversity. From this Diversity, comes Unity.”
The evening concluded with a recital on padams and javalis by Priyadarshini Govind. In such an enactment, ability to convey the humanistic emotions that are described lyrically is key, as many padams and javalis rely heavily on abhinaya and expression rather than physicality and the use of jathis. Priyadarshini was a more than suitable-choice, captivating the audience. The use of Tiruvarur Girish’s vocals was even more apt as the Brindamma lineage is known for the vast repertoire of padams and javalis that Brindamma held great command over. While his vocalizations complemented the dancer’s understanding of the compositions, the recital was filled with slow-paced pieces that gradually began to weave together unconsciously. Implementing items of varying kala pramanams and embracing silences in the pieces would have served the performance well.