Dancer Simran Sunil Vudayagiri, in her role as one of the Ashta Nayikas (Eight Archetypal Heroines), is longing for her lover, perhaps Krishna.
She adorns herself meticulously with clothes, jewels and make-up, and then proceeds to cook his favourite dish. She tastes tentatively, decides it is not good enough, and starts from scratch again.
In this pure dance number, accompanied only by the music of the veena, the flute and percussion, even words are dismissed as a distraction. Yet in a span of ten minutes, Simran has evoked a spectrum of emotions: from eager expectation to aching despair, from quiet disappointment to the sweet release of fulfilment.
Every gesture, every glance held the audience in rapt attention – especially those radiant eyes.
Reading so much in her dance, I figured this item alone was sufficient to prove beyond doubt that Simran has dance within her: she is a dancer.
Oh, and did I mention – she is but fifteen years of age!
The occasion was the arangetram of Simran Sunil Vudayagiri at the UNSW Science Theatre in early May.
The proud daughter of Sunil and Pooja Vudayagiri, Simran has been learning Bharathanatyam since the age of five from the illustrious Guru Nikhila Kiran, founder of the Natyanivedan Dance School in Sydney.
Simran’s chosen repertoire was varied and versatile. Nikhila explained that it paid homage to Shankaracharya, Vendanta Deshikar, Purandara Dasa and many others, and had a strong Kannada flavour.
In an unusual innovation, the main item Varna – Sudarshana Chakra was not centred on any one deity from the Hindi pantheon of gods, but focused instead on the Sudarshana Chakra – the divine spinning disc of Vishnu’s wrath and protection. It is often depicted in the hands of Vishnu the Protector, and can be found on weapons held by many of his avatars.
Varna is the item where the dancer’s skills are exposed fully: the ability to perform nritya (pure dance) and abhinaya (acting) are assessed here. Simran performed these with ease, whether it be to the words, nattuvangam or pure notes. The rich voices of Prema Anandakrishnan and her daughter Lakshmi filled the auditorium with Jaya Jaya Sri Sudarshana, Nigama sada darshana. One after another, Simran presented episodes from the tales of Narasimha, Parashurama and Shiva. All the shades of raga Kambodhi in the background, Simran explored the various facets of the Sudarshan chakra. Sometimes she exposed the chakra as the “very destroyer of the world.” An elaborate item indeed, very well planned and executed.
The item Sharada Kouthvam brought out the rich lyrical beauty of verses from the Sharada Bhujanga Stotra composed by Sri Shankaracharya. The confluence of lyricism, music, percussion, and dance wove a tapestry of beauty that lingered long after the final note.
The other items, each a gem on its merit, included Pushpanjali, Valli Manoharane, Eashane Kailasa Nathane, Thillana and Mangalam.
Vocalists Prema and Lakshmi have now made a mark in providing music for dance performances. Prema’s rendering of Indu engage Govinda in the musical interlude was captivating. Guru Nikhila Kiran provided the Nattuvangam. Soumya Sritharan on veena, Jathusan Jeyarasa on flute, Sumukha Jagadeesh on Mridangam and Peraveenan Jeyarasa on ghatam and rhythm pad provided able support.
Besides her long-standing passion for Bharathanatyam, Simran also learns Carnatic music and has a black belt in Karate.
Since establishing her dance school in 1997, Guru Nikhila Kiran has trained more than 800 students, many of whom have presented their arangetrams successfully. With numerous awards and accolades under her belt, she is introducing wonderful new expressions into the classical dance scene in Australia’s Indian community.
I sat through Simran’s performance as if I were watching a granddaughter of mine up on stage, immensely pleased and moved. I cannot help but feel, yet again, that Bharathanatyam dance is safe in the hands of our new generation of dancers like her.
READ MORE: How dance forms the light of Sashi Bala’s life – Indian Link
