Narthaki: Arunima at Virasat 2025
By RANEE KUMAR
Dehradun, 17 Oct: The glow of Diwali came alive with a stunning classical Kuchipudi dance performance by Arunima Kumar and pupils under the aegis of Virasat 2025. The aesthetically designed stage with the image of Surya in the centre of the backdrop gave the right ambience. The discerning audience were treated to choicest pieces from the vast repertoire of this dance genre. Dancer guru Arunima Kumar from London has a proven track-record of establishing Kuchipudi beyond its national boundaries. Her propagation and practice of the dance with dedication have earned her (Arunima Kumar Dance Company) the prestigious King Charles III honorary British Empire Medal (BEM) as recently as Friday (16 October).
The performance opened with an invocation to Surya, with vigorous footwork, in quintessential Kuchipudi style with expressive abhinaya by the threesome. While the duo, Cornelia and Bidya, was in perfect sync especially with the adherence to taala, Arunima stood out with her magnetic stage presence. She was engrossed in her art, and it was visible in every nerve. Obviously, it evoked a spontaneous response from the connoisseurs of dance. The complex daruvu preceding every verse, the salutations representing the varied forms and names of the Sun were superb.
Arunima’s solo piece, Ardhanareeshwara (Adi Sankara’s verses) sans any of the props and veil usually donned by Kuchipudi artistes, was depicted with elan. She brought sensitivity and sensibility in her delineation of two contrasting aspects of male and female from a divine standpoint. The potent force of Shiva and the feminine shakti were clear cut even as they merged seamlessly which is the essence of the concept of Ardhranarreshwara. It was indeed a beautiful rendition.
Deva devam bhaje (Guru Vanashree Rao’s choreography) was an enveloping piece beginning with a crisp pravesha daruvu of Mahavishnu and his celestial Garuda. Her finesse in emulating the pristine Garuda and Lord Vishnu astride this divine eagle, through her agile body movements was commendable. Since Lord Ram is considered to be an avatar of Vishnu, the entire song is actually on the virtuous Ram vanquishing the villainous Ravan for abducting Sita. The verses from Chandi Path (Devimahatmya) came alive with fleeting footwork and abhinaya as an invocation by Lord Ram before embarking on the war. To the following lines, Pankajasana vinuta parama Narayanam…Arunima deftly relayed the Dashavatara up to the avatar of Sri Ram from where she took off to a crisp narration of the Ramayana in a nutshell ending it with the Ram-Ravan combat wherein her pupil chipped in to characterise Ravan. Despite varied renditions to Vishnu, Devi, Dashavatar and finally Ram, the entire piece was like a tapestry tightly woven with artistry.
Kalinda Narthana Tillana, an Oothukadu composition rendered by Aruna Sairam, is innately rhythmic and very danceable song. The dancer trio did full justice but what stood out was the tableau-like finale where the three dancers stood in a single file with Arunima in the centre in Krishna posture flanked by the duo in front and behind like two hooded serpents. It was a picture perfect still.
The penultimate Tarangam was a welcome deviation from the run-of-the-mill Balagopala. This time around, it was a Shiva Tarangam with the mesmerising adavus on tambalam (plate). Arunima seemed an adept at this as she manipulated the plate and the dance with agility and adroit adherence to tala.
The two-and-half hour show came to a close with Draupadi’s bidding her victorious farewell to Bheema, her husband, who vows vendetta on her behalf to Dusshasan for disrobing and dishonouring Draupadi in a family gathering. The piece opens with Draupadi invocating Goddess Kali to give her husband the strength to fulfil his vow and destroy the enemy. To the dancer’s credit it must be mentioned that she emerged victorious against the pitfall of repetitive abhinaya which often bogs down the artiste when the imagery is constantly appearing through all pieces. The featuring of Mother Goddess again, now in the form of Kali to the refrain of Chamundi was unique and as the sequence called for, Arunima’s kinetics manifested the dark power of Kali with aplomb. The sancharis were impressive; the reverie of the vastrapaharanam, is shown as a trigger that transforms the wife in Draupadi to a revengeful female seeking the blood of her perpetrator which is very true in the case of such victims. This aspect was delineated with clarity. The joy of watching an authentic art form always emanates a sense of harmony in the viewers’ hearts which in dance parlance is called ‘rasothpatti’ (bliss churned by art). This is the sine- quo-non of true classicality of any art form. The discerning audience were fortunate to have had a slice of this experience (anubhooti).
