Natya Mruga Dwani, as the title suggests is based on dance of animals with all the rasas. Kuchipudi Guru Ajay Chakravarthy had picked up stories from mythology to relate to the title that was presented at two places in the city. And his Shishya, Phalya Gudipudi did complete justice, be it snake, peacock, monkey, elephant or lion – each associated with Gods in Hindu mythology.
Guru Ajay Chakravarthy should be proud of his Shishya Phalya, when he trained her to perform Mayura Thalam in Chitra Natyam, a first in Kuchipudi, to pay respects to Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati’s younger son Kumara Swamy, who rides a peacock. This item was the highlight of the show at Lamakaan and Subishi-Town Centre, where it was performed and lapped by the audience. Phalya mesmerised the audience with her peacock steps to Kollengode Sankara and Palakkad Kannan composition, which was set in Ragamalika Ragam and Thalamalika Talam.
The evening’s performance began with a traditional prayer to Ganesha, Gajanana Yutham, composed by Muthuswamy Dikshtar, set in Vegavahini Ragam and Aadi Talam. Phalya followed the prayer with Annamacharya Keertana, Okkade Ekanga Veerudu, set in Thodi Ragam and Aadi Talam. In this Annamacharya keertana, the bravery and strength of Lord Hanuman is described. The Class XI student of Indus International School brought out facial expressions and the prance of a monkey perfectly.
After Hanuman, it was displaying the ferocious Dasavataram of Lord Narasimha. Guru Ajay picked up another Annamacharya song, Phala Netranala set in Keeravani Ragam and Rupaka Talam, where the young dancer beautifully portrayed the aggressive, wild, and regal nature of a lion. To pay respects to the Lord of Dance, Shiva, Guru Ajay chose Samavedam Shanmugha Sarma’s Sivunimeni Seemalo, set in Punnaagavarali Ragam and Aadi Talam, where it gave the dancer an opportunity to show the Lord wrapped by snake. In this dance piece, Phalya goes all out to become a beautiful snake and holds the audience with her snake movements.
It must be pointed out that each dance piece reinforced the relationship and interdependence between animals, humans, and God, as derived from mythology. All items were choreographed by Guru Ajay Chakravarthy and sung by Kaushik Kalyan.
