Margazhi moves on timeless tunes

SIXTY-odd pairs of eyes faced the stage at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan on Friday, waiting for the curtain to rise. A kid wearing an orange kurta and white pyjama excitedly told his friend, "I am excited for my mother's performance."

- SONU M KOTHARI

The red stage curtains were pulled up, and facing the audience was the ensemble – nattuvangam by Sai Kripa, vocal by Srikanth Gopalkrishnan, mridangam by Bharadwaj, violin by Easwar Ramakrishnan, and flute by Muthukumar. The next moment, the audience was enthralled by a soft yellow-toned spotlight hitting a performer draped in green and maroon silk saris with zari work.

With a captivating performance that blended traditional roots with a global touch, Bharatanatyam dancer Anwesha Das, Urmila Sathyanarayanan's student under the auspices of Kartik Fine Arts, with her grace and steps added to the Margazhi season from the stages of the United States to the closed auditoriums of Chennai. Anwesha shared, "Performing during Margazhi marks a beautiful culmination of all the sadhana I have put in through the year. It is also a humble offering of my love for the art form in a space where Bharatanatyam thrives and is alive in all its glory."