Kanaka Sabha Centre of Performing Arts presented the Bharata Natyam arangetram of Supriya Nair, disciple of Guru Rajeshwari P. Nair, at the Fine Arts Sivaswamy auditorium on 29th December 2023. The performance was noteworthy for its clarity of movements and considerable command over expressions.

Guru Rajeshwari P Nair is a professional Bharata Natyam exponent and mentor for the last thirty five years and is the disciple of veteran mentor Guru Saroja Srinath and Dr Siri Rama of Kanaka Sabha Centre of Performing Arts and has participated in the dance dramas like Tulsidas Ramayana, Hayavadana, Buddha Charitram etc. Rajeshwari is a teacher with Loretto Convent and St Anthony High School in Chembur.

Besides the traditional and invocatory numbers, it was a pleasure to watch Supriya dance with a lot of enthusiasm and confidence. The Hamsanandi Jatiswaram was a fine combination of music, melody and rhythm, Supriya danced with effortless ease and precision. Krishna Varnam described the multi faceted Krishna and glory of the Lord and it was exciting for the audience to witness the Marathi abhang 'Maghe Maher Pandhari" in praise of Lord Vitthal of Pandharpur. It was pleasant surprise for the audience to see the dance version of the hit Telugu film "Shankarabaranam" in "Omkara Nada". The sparkling dancer Supriya concluded the performance with the popular Hindi composition of Maharaja Swati Tirunal 'Geeta Dhwani" in Dhanasri Thillana with fine control of over intricate rhythm and stylised body movements.

Supriya received fine orchestral support from Dr Siri Rama on nattuvangam, melodious singing by Shivaprasad, mridangam by the young and talented Dakshinamurthy, violin by Balasubramnaiam, flute by Sanjay Sasidharan and Ghatam and Shank by Pancham Upadhyay.

The chief guests on the occasion were Seshadiri Gopalan of Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers Ltd and Saroja Srinath, founder director of Kanaka Sabha Centre of Performing Arts. If Supriya continues to dance with the same amount of zeal and passion, she can definitely aspire to be among the main rank of dancers.

By Guru Vijay Shanker