Kiranmayee’s offering to her Guru

Bharatanatyam dancer Kiranmayee Madupu choreographed the entire repertoire of her performance for the first time, and dedicated it to her Guru Hemamalini Arni

After the invocation piece, the young Bharatanatyam dancer Kiranmayee Madupu introduced the next piece from her repertoire – ‘I am she whose heart is brimming with love…for the Lord of Thiruvarur’ and began one of the most beautiful renditions of the varnam, ‘mohamana en midil’.

In addition to very good footwork that she is already known for (also owing to the inherent style of Vazhuvoor School), it was her depiction of the sringara rasa she amply displayed that made for a wholesome dance presentation. And, the audience got a glimpse of her endearing abhinaya that would be further revealed in all its nuances in her latter numbers.

The repertoire of Kiran’s Bharatanatyam performance at Ravindra Bharathi was choreographed entirely by her for the first time. She dedicated it to her Guru, Hemamalini Arni, who is amongst the torchbearers of traditional aspects of Bharatanatyam that she imbibed from her own stalwart Gurus (Padmabhushan) T Balasaraswati and (Padmashri) Vazhuvoor Ramaih Pillai.

After the scintillating varnam, Kiran presented the Annamayya krithi - Bhavaayami Gopalabalam – where the vaggeyakar revels in his imagination of the young and naughty Krishna, his escapades, and the pure love Mother Yashoda has for him, he, who is none other than the Lord Venkateswara of Tirumala.

Here again, Kiran faithfully recreated the devotion and love, and the way she alternates as Annamayya penning the beautiful lyrics, Yashoda and the young Lord Krishna is one of the many aspects of her choreography that made the rendition engaging.

She followed this Abhinaya-rich piece with yet another one, this time a Kshetrayya padam, ‘Kodi Kusenayyayyo Nagunde Jhallu Jhallu Manene’ where Radha pines for spending time with her lover Krishna and is often disturbed by the crowing of a rooster.

Here too, Kiran has displayed maturity and finesse in showcasing the viraham (the pain of separation). And just when one thought that the dancer has done enough of the abhinaya, she shifted to the Ramadasu Kriti, ‘Raghuvamsasudha’, where she once again displayed her agile nritta.

At the end of the performance, one genuinely felt – here is a ray of hope for the dance scene in Hyderabad. One piece of advice is however that the young dancer in her enthusiasm to fine-tune her abhinaya should not ignore the nritta, for which she has great ability to explore and excel.

By Rajeshwari Kalyanam