An evening !

An evening solely dedicated to one of my biggest passions- dance; made even more special by an exceptional performance.

Having arrived quite early, I spent an hour observing my fellow audience who had come to watch a Bharatanatyam recital by Shobhana(a popular cine-actress and renowned dancer). Around 80% of the crowd were elderly folks; either groups of ladies or couples. Everyone had the same interest in their eyes; one of viewing a show that catered to their interests along with a chance to view the celebrity star live on stage. Restless children with their mothers, uninterested(but helpless) spouses with their partners and a handful like me(with smug "I-am-here-only-because-I-love-art" looks) formed rest of the crowd.

Shobhana, along with her talented orchestra presented us with an overwhelming experience of ragas, devotion, rhythm, mudras and beauty. The grace and poise with which she carried herself throughout the recital was amazing. What is as important a factor as the "nritha" and "natya" is the "bhavam", i.e., the expressions that an artist conveys. When she presented "SitaKalyanam", or to be more specific, the scene wherein Sita's suitors attempt to lift Lord Shiva's bow, to get her hand in marriage, the sheer ease with which she portrayed their vanity colored by a shade of humor, the naturality with which she brought about all those emotions without losing that grace of classical dance ever, just took my breath away. I could see that the entire crowd felt the same at that moment, by the vigor of applause she received shortly afterwards.

All in all, a wonderful evening that left me refreshed and with a resolve to keep the dancer in me alive forever...