Kiran Prakash captured well the emotions of Nayika in her Varnam

Kiran Prakash chose to highlight the yearning Nayika in her performance

When a dancer with a background in vocal music and the veena takes the stage, it results in a unique confluence of art forms. Kiran Prakash, a disciple of Hema and Krithika Rajagopalan, presented a Bharatanatyam recital for Anusham Arts Academy.

Kiran began with ‘Shankara shrigiri’, on Shiva, who dances with the sages and the bhootaganas in the Chitrasabha, is depicted as the destroyer of Cupid. This kriti, composed by Swati Tirunal, is set in raga Hamsanandi and tala Adi. The dance seamlessly blended intricate footwork and nuanced expressions, including impressive eye and eyebrow movements.

Next was the centerpiece – varnam ‘Mohamana’. It is composed by Ponniah Pillai, in raga Bhairavi and tala Rupakam. Here, the nayika expresses her yearning and helplessness to Shiva. Kiran maintained her energy and poise throughout the varnam. Her jewellery and costume enhanced the overall appeal.

Kiran then presented a javali, ‘Apaduruku’, composed by Pattabhirama Iyer, in Khamas and Adi tala. Kiran beautifully conveyed the nayika’s innocence through her abhinaya.

Kiran concluded her performance with a thillana in Brindavani, set to Adi tala, a composition by M. Balamuralikrishna.

The evening’s orchestra featured G. Vijayaraghavan on the mridangam, Chitrambari Krishnakumar on the vocals, Kalaiarasan Ramanathan on the violin, and Vijay Kumar S. on the nattuvangam.