Sharmila Mukerjee & Urmila Sathyanarayanan @ NCPA

Ritubhava 

Odissi by Sharmila Mukerjee & troupe

The Beautiful Shades of Bharatanatyam

By Urmila Sathyanarayanan & troupe

Sharmila Mukerjee is the founder and artistic director of Sanjali Centre for Odissi Dance in Bengaluru which was established in 2004. She was initiated into the Uday Shankar style of dance and went on to study Odissi under the tutelage of Kelucharan Mohapatra. She has worked closely with hearing-impaired children when she taught dance and movement therapy at The Oral School for Deaf Children in Kolkata. After moving to Bengaluru, she taught dance at the Sheila Kothwala Institute for the Deaf. In 2000, she won a scholarship to the University of Michigan, where she trained in dance movement and composition. A Grade ‘A’ artiste of Doordarshan and an empanelled artiste of the ICCR, Mukerjee has performed at prestigious festivals and conferences in India and abroad and received awards including Mahari Award from the Guru Pankaj Charan Das Foundation (Odisha), Singar Mani from the Sur Singar Samsad, Mumbai, Kala Gaurav from Karnataka and Sironama from Kolkata.

Nature moves in seasons, and with every changing season, the human heart undergoes a change too. Inspired by Kalidasa’s Ritusamhara, Ritubhava explores the intimate bond between ritu—the cycle of seasons—and bhava—the emotions they awaken within us. Spring blossoms into love and joy, summer burns with longing, the monsoon trembles with hope and separation, while winter turns the mind inward in contemplation. Ritubhava is thus a journey where, through the language of classical dance, season becomes feeling, feeling becomes movement, and movement becomes rasa.

Urmila Sathyanarayanan has trained in Bharatanatyam at Sri Saraswathy Gana Nilayam in Chennai, completed her arangetram under K. N. Dandayuthapani Pillai and was later groomed by K. J. Sarasa. She has performed at prestigious national and international venues and is a recipient of the Kalaimamani award from the state of Tamil Nadu and Central Sangeet Natak Akademi award. She serves on the governing body of the South Zone Cultural Centre. She is the Founder of Natya Sankalpaa, Chennai, a Grade ‘A’ artiste of Doordarshan and empanelled in the ‘outstanding’ category by the ICCR, New Delhi.

The Beautiful Shades of Bharatanatyam

The hallmark of this dance form is the versatility of its myriad hues. Steeped in ancient tradition, it lends itself seamlessly to change and transformation. 

Commencing the recital will be the Mallari in Gambiranattai ragam and Kanda Triputa talam, composed by Sri. Gangamuthu Nattuvanar. This musical composition is typically played on the majestic wind instrument, the Nadaswaram, when the temple deity is taken out in procession during festivals and auspicious occasions. 

The Padavarnam is the soul of a Bharatanatyam recital and integral to the dance form. The padavarnam in question is a grand composition of my veteran guru, the late Padmasri. K. N. Dandayuthani Pillai in ragam Karaharapriya and Adi talam. It poetically depicts the longing of the lovelorn heroine (soul / atma) for the Lord of Chidambaram. 

Javalis are special musical compositions which deal with sringara. This javali depicts a heroine who is a common woman and offers her services in return for compensation. This javali is a composition by Sri Pattabiramayya in ragam Poorvikalyani and Adi talam. 

The concluding item is a soulful composition of Maharaja Swati Tirunal in ragam Sindu Bhairavi set to Adi talam. This composition very subtly exposes the oneness of the two supreme deities: the creator Lord Mahavishnu as Padmanabha of Travancore and Lord Shiva as Kalabhairava of Kashi, both of whom offer the much-awaited liberation to the soul.

An NCPA Presentation

Age Limit: 6+

Late entry will not be permitted. 

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