Dharohar provided an opportunity to the connoisseurs of classical dance to savour the manifold dimensions and facets of Bharatanatyam dance that saw mesmerizing dance performances with a gradual evolution of evocative mediums over the ages. The disciples of Guru Geeta Chandran relayed the fabulous heritage of the dance form, learnt from their famous Guru to the audiences with great conviction and passion.
According to Geeta Chandran, “Bharatanatyam being a classical dance form, it is imperative that students get the feel of the stage, of a live audience and of performance! Plus, in our nation’s context, students, predominantly from North India learning a South Indian art form, also have invaluable context for nation-building and of a one-nation, one-community feeling. Hence, DHAROHAR is an important event in the lives of disciples at Natya Vriksha”
Day one of the Dharohar festival had performance of choreographies by the dancers trained at Natya Vriksha in three groups, group 1 had Avantika Shankar, Baishali Sarkar, Deepika Thapa, Jashasmita Sarkar, Kanishtha Dharewa, Mehak Chawla, and Shikha Gusain, while in group 2 Aaradhya Verma, Akshaya Viswanathan, Anika Gopal, Shaivi Vats, Sree Pragnya Ramachandrula, Suhasini Sen, and Svwara Arrundhati Sreenivasan were there.
In the last performance of Day 1, in group 3, Jyotsna Panicker, Ninika Dhawan, Riva Natarajan, Samyukta Ninan, Sarayu Srinivasan, and Shubhashree Roy presented the enthralling choreography. The performance began with Gambheernatai Pushpanjali followed by Tisram Alarippu, Natesha kautuvam, Kalyani Jatiswaram, Nattaikuranji Varnam, Sundar Shyam, Idadu Padam, Ettai kandu nee and Vrindavani Tillana, which were ably applauded by the audience.
Day 2 also had performances in three groups who performed: Mishram Pushpanjali followed by Tisram Alarippu, Natesha Kautuvam, Kalyani Jatiswaram, Behag Varnam, Sundar Shyam, Sakalam he Sakhi, Baso more Nainan mein and Vrindavani Tillana by dancers in group 1; Bindu Sharma, Gayatri Suresh and Mani Tata. In group 2; Apeksha Hareesh, Devyani Singh, Sharanya Srivastava, Sree Dyuti Ramachandrula, Suhani Dhandia, and Tarini Dhingra and in Group 3 the dancers were Akshara Anand, Ashutosh Bajpayee, Dolly Seth, Kamalini Mukherjee, Krati Saraogi, Shrimoyee Raut, and Sithalakshmy Iyer. On both evenings Guru (Padmashri) Geeta Chandran conducted the proceedings on nattuvangam. Other supporting artists were: Venkateshwaran Kuppuswamy (Vocal), Manohar Balatchandirane (Mridangam), and G. Raghavendra Prasath (Violin).
During the two day dance festival, Shloka recitation by the youngest batch of students at Natya Vriksha: Aaria Ambani Shanker, Ameya Gopal, Anandita Nair Biswas, Anushka Shivkumar Iyer, Apnavi Dhandia, Avisha Sundaram, Dakshita Venkat, Diya Jain Srivastava, Ira Rosa, Jaseri Priya Mishra, Maanini Sehgal, Meenakshi, Mishka Gupta, Mrinmayee Singh, Ojasvini Upadhye, Samyukthaa Vidyashankar Iyer, Shelin Raj, Sanchita Buragohain, and Vivikthaa Vidyashankar Iyer saw the audience go into complete devotional journey.
All in all it was an eventful two day dance festival for the connoisseurs of the dance form. The choreography, skillful act, costumes, lighting and music was of some real treat and showcased the true colors of what Dharohar truly means.
