Pavitra & Harsha's Arangetram Program

a bharatanätyam perf ormance

by Pavitra & Harsha

(disciples of divya dévaguptäpu) sunday la jolla

A blissful, sincere devotion that is characterized by expressions of love and submission. Bhakti can define many kinds of relationships including that of a deity and his devotee, a parent and his child, or a guru and his student. In today's program, we explore the many shades and expressions of devotion that manifest as we respond to the world and to people around us.

natesha kautuvam Raga Hamsadwani Talam Adi An offering to Nataraja, the Lord of Dance, whose joyful movements are as universally celebrated as the sun and the moon that he wears as ornaments in his hair. A kautuvam is a unique opening piece that is traditionally presented with the verse first being chanted and then sung.

alarippu Talam Roopakam The literal translation of alarippu is "flowering." In this item, the dancers explore movements by the major and minor limbs that are described in ancient Vedic scriptures on dance, from the eyes to the feet, and introduce the key postures that characterize Bharatanatyam.

jatiswaram Raga Behag Talam Adi Composition by Lalgudi Jayaraman Choreography by Divya Devaguptapu Musical Guidance provided by Dr. CM Venkatachalam Jatiswaram is traditionally a rhythmic piece that is set to pure melody. This is a unique composition musically in which the pallavi also contains a sahityam, or a lyrical melody.

nrityopahaaram Raga Ragamaalika Talam Adi Composition by Bharatiyaar Music and Choreography by VP Dhananjayan In her many forms, the goddess is celebrated universally as Maata, the ultimate maternal figure who gives life, knowledge, and love. As Shakti, she personifies the cosmic energy that emanates from each of the elements around us. As Saraswati, her words of wisdom illuminate our understanding as brightly as pearls that sparkle within oysters beneath the ocean floor. To obtain amrita, the nectar of immortality, the gods and the demons unite to churn the milky ocean.

As they tug a great serpent back and forth around a high mountain peak, Lakshmi emerges from the ocean and weds Vishnu. To test Parvati's devotion to him, Shiva disguises himself as a hermit and interrupts her meditation.

He tries to provoke Parvati by challenging her prayer to one who wears snakes as hair, who dresses in tiger skin, and who carries skulls as begging bowls. His attempts succeed only in revealing the sincerity of her devotion to and love for Shiva.

ashtapadi Yahi Madhava Yahi Keshava Raga Mohanam Talam Adi Music by VP Dhananjayan In the 12th century, poet Jayadeva chronicled the relationship between Radha and Krishna in the Gita Govinda through a series of astapadis, or 8 line poems.

In this verse, a sleep-deprived Radha anxiously wonders what could have kept Krishna away from her all night. When he arrives in a disheveled state on her doorstep, she immediately realizes that he has been with the gopikas. As she chastises him, Radha is torn between her love for Krishna and her immediate bitterness towards his philandering.

keertanam Antha Rama Soundaryam Raga Kedara Gowla Talam Adi Composition by Arunachala Kavi In this episode of the Ramanayana epic, the monkey god, Hanuman, searches for the kidnapped queen, Sita, in Lanka. In the midst of her ordeal, a guarded Sita is hesitant to embrace him as a messenger from Rama, and asks Hanuman to describe Rama to prove that he is indeed his emissary. Through visual imagery and hyperbole, Hanuman paints a portrait of Rama that reveals the depth of his devotion and that ultimately returns to his question for Sita: “How can the profound beauty and greatness of Lord Rama possibly be described by the likes of me?�

tillana Raga Kadanakutuhalam Talam Adi Composition by Balamuralikrishna This masterpiece is a signature of our school, Bharatakalanjali. In appreciation of the choreography Gurus Shanta and Dhananjayan set to his tillana, Sri Balamuralikrishna rewrote the charanam to integrate their names into the lyrics and the theme of the verse.

mangalam About the Dancers Harsha and Pavitra have trained extensively in both Indian and Western classical art forms. In addition to pursuing their passion for dance, Pavitra works in clinical research at UC San Diego and Harsha is a software developer in Washington D.C.

divya devaguptapu A senior disciple of Dhananjayans, Divya is an internationally acclaimed Bharatanatyam dancer and choreographer based in San Diego. Critically acclaimed for her thought provoking and mature choreography, her pure dance technique is flawless and she is known for her spontaneous and involved abhinaya. A firm believer in the timelessness of Bharatanatyam, her dance celebrates classicism with a contemporary flair. A passionate teacher, she teaches select students in San Diego and is known for her commitment and generosity as a teacher. She is also an adjunct faculty of dance at UCSD.

sreedev rajagopalan is a lecturer of Vocal Music at Sree Swathi Thirunal College of Music and an A grade artist at All India Radio with an MA in Indian Classical Music.

He learnt music under S. Jayasree and later under Varkala C.S. Jayaram. k p ramesh babu disciple of Karaikudi R. Mani. dancers over the years.

is an accomplished, senior Mridangam artiste and He has accompanied some of India's finest musicians and

easwar ramakrishnan is a disciple of his father P. P Ramakrishnan and of Prof. T.N.Krishnan. Easwar completed his advanced music training from Kalakshetra Foundation, Chennai. vishnu vijay is a graduate in Music from the Swati Tirunal Music College. He is a sought after flautist and composer who has worked with several leading Carnatic and film music directors.

CM Venkatachalam, Sai Shankar, Venkatakrishnan Mahalingam, Sangram Tidke, & Sherwood Auditorium staff Harish Khandrika, Satyam Jayanti, BD Radhakrishnan, & Sangram Tidke Tuan Thai SS Dressers Chennai & Kanakam Devaguptapu Raji Nathan and Jayashree Raghavan

to all of you for your kind presence today!

Shekar, Usha, Pavitra, and Harsha

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