Meenakshi Srinivasan brings alive scenes from the life of Krishna

Meenakshi Srinivasan presented verses from Srimad Bhagwat.

Meenakshi Srinivasan opted for a soft opening for her thematic-rhythmic performance for the Dance for Dance festival organized by Kalavahini in collaboration with Karthik Fine Arts. He started with ‘Krishna – Born as a Saviour’, a verse from the Srimad Bhagavatam, followed by a performance of Swathi Tirunal Kriti in Ragamalika (Rupak taala). ‘Kalyani Khalu’ brought happiness as it showed instances where Krishna saved his devotees.

Mahesh Swami’s tunes on the flute were melodious. The music team put a lot of effort into presenting the early Ragamalika composition and M. Balamuralikrishna’s Padavarnam ‘Omkara’ in Shanmugapriya, Adi tala and his Thaya Ragamalika Thillana ‘Ta Nom Nom Ta’ in Kalyani raga, Adi tala.

Kaniyal Hariprasad (singer) maintained a low profile with his soft tune hitting the right notes. Ishwar Ramakrishna (violin) was faithful, while Jayashree Ramanathan (Nattuvangam) played an excellent role with his non-intrusive guidance.

Meenakshi seemed to be enjoying the challenges. While he filled the silences with small beats in the Swathi Tirunal piece, he allowed gaps in Balamuralikrishna’s pieces. Varnam, Krishna – Incarnation of the Supreme Consciousness, composed by M. Balamuralikrishna, was intriguing with the charanam notes starting after a tala. There were also intervals within the notes which were followed by Hariprasad and Meenakshi. The dancer is fond of Lasya-type steps that go with her overall delicate image – Kudichi Mettu Edvus, tha-thai-tha Adavas, low araimandi, round arms and agility showed his brutality. It’s a kind of condensed ‘within-her-body’ movement terminology, so to speak. Even Vedakrishna Rama responded to this ‘Lasya’ style by playing the mridangam softly.

Varnam’s mood was contemplative. This shows the intangibility of Krishna being the incarnation of that pure consciousness. Nature coming alive with Krishna’s presence was an elaborate communication, as was Arjuna’s vision of Krishna as the universal form on the battlefield. Meenakshi’s liquid eyes captured the musician’s devotion.

The Kshetray Padam ‘Yamisiyudu E Mohamu’ on Krishna’s separation was tuned by Hariprasad in a stunning Charukesi, Mishra Chapu, bringing out the sadness of the song. Meenakshi was subtle as she built the emotions with the help of Mahesh. The entire evening’s meeting with Krishna was eventful.