That beautiful Dance

Engulfed – is the word that comes to my mind when I think about the performance last evening. I am not a dancer, I don’t know much about dance, I have watched quite a number of performances though. But the one I watched yesterday evening is something special.

The month of December is probably the best month in Chennai, the day is not so hot and the night is pleasantly cold, and the auditorium in the city fills with Music and Dance, everyday almost around the clock you can go to any performance halls in the city and it will be full of activity. The sheer volume of performances that happen this month is incredible.

Last year around this time, I was swept off my feet by the most beautiful and enchanting performance I have ever seen. Nrityagram an odissi dance group from Banglore came to Kalakshetra and I became their fan. Ever since then I wanted to see them perform again.

And yesterday they came to this city, to Krishna Gana Sabha, to do magic yet again. And this time, I got permission to photograph the event, without a tripod it was little difficult. But I am not complaining.

How exciting to see Bijayini Satapti perform again, other performances I can watch and enjoy, but my level of participation is somewhat diminished, I can feel I am watching a performance nothing more than that. But to watch Bijayini dance is something so wonderful that it’s hard to describe, I don’t feel I am watching a performance anymore, the edges begin to fade, the crowd disappears, and everything vanishes except Bijayini and the spell the casts’ sets me in a trance. There is some sort of playful innocence in her smile, dancers usually “wear a smile” - even though what they are doing is physically taxing and requires hours and hours of practice and discipline, they smile when they perform- sometimes this smile looks mechanical because of the amount of strain that the dancer feels when they perform, but Bijayini’s smile plucks at my heart.

She is beautiful and displays a wide variety of expressions and all of them excite the senses. When she is performing all my senses surrender to her.

Yesterday’s evening’s performance was a little slow compared to the last year’s one, they had only one “allegro” item, but it in no way diminishes the beauty.

I am still reeling from the effects, If Nirtyagram is performing with Bijayini in it and if I have enough money, I will follow them wherever they go to watch them dance.