Nrityalaya School of Dance presented the Bharata Natyam Arangetram of Manishka Narayan at the Gokul Hall of Sri Gopalakrishna Temple, Sion on 20^th July 2024.

The debut performance was noteworthy for its clarity of movements, precise execution of rhythmic movements and  natural expressions that left a lasting impression on the audience.

Manishka is the disciple of Guru Vidyalakshmi Vinod and the daughter of Radhika and Narayan and has been learning this divine art form of Bharata natyam for the last twelve years. Guru Vidylakshmi Vinod established Nrityalaya School of Dance in 2002 in Greater Seattle area and ever since has trained several dance aspirants. Besides several performances for prestigious organisations, Vidyalakshmi has choreographed dance dramas like “Shree Mhatre Namah”, “Dharmo Rakshithi Rakshitaha”, “Pancha Mahabhutham”, “Namah Shivaya”, “Dashavataram” and “Balakandam”.

Manishka commenced her performance with Pushpanjali, offering of flowers to the Almighty and Gajananayutham in praise of Lord Ganesha. A fine combination of music,melody, rhythmic and stylized movements was the execution of the Saveri Jatiswaram. The dance as an Ode to cosmic dancer Lord Nataraja was interpreted in “Thathai Yendru aaduvar”, a beautiful composition of Gopalkrishna Bharati that vividly describes the cosmic dance of Lord Shiva in the Chidambaram Temple. The varied poses and the complex movements was the highlight of this performance.

The most elaborate number of the evening, Varnam, composition of Madurai N Krishnan, described the varied facets and manifestations of the Goddess, that incorporated the virile and the benevolent aspect of the Goddess. A pleasant surprise for the audience was the interpretation of the Hanuman Chalisa in the dance form that vividly described Hanuman’s devotion for Lord Rama. Besides Natha Murali in praise of Lord Krishna, Manishka concluded her sprakling and vivacious performance with the complex Shivaranjani Thillana and Haravarasanam in praise of Lord Ayyappa.

Manishka received fine orchestral support from N Sriram for nattuvangam and mridangam, vocal by Srikanth, flute by Shruti Sagar, violin by Anantharaman, event coordination by Shanmukha Arts, host Lakshmi Ananthanarayan and narration by Aradhya S and Pooja S. The special guests of the evening were Dr V Shankar of Shanmukhananda Fine Arts and Sangeeta Sabha, Guru Jayashree Nair of Upasana Dance Academy and Guru Sharada Ganeshan and Guru Nataraja Gopal of Kalasadan Cultural Society.

By Guru Vijay Shanker