Damsels hold sway

Inspired by the concept of Ashta Nayikas, the traditional representatives of the physical, mental and emotional states of a woman, renowned dance guru Kiran Subramanyam and his wife, Sandhya Kiran have conceptualised this piece. “The challenge was to visualise and present all these aspects in a single love song, so that the audiences get to understand the depth of woman’s expression in totality. Exploration of this led to Maanini,” say the couple from Bengaluru who were awarded the prestigious Karnataka State Award for the Arts – Karnataka Kalashree recently. If you’ve witnessed the sheer magic that they weave on stage, bringing it to life through creativity and spontaneity, you’d understand exactly why.

Although adhering to the technique and grammar of Bharatanatyam, the couple adds their own spin to the piece so as to break free from the shackles of tradition.

“Conventionally, compositions have been dedicated to one Nayika at a time, but to integrate all of them in a traditional composition has not been attempted often,” says Sandhya, hoping to grip the audiences’ attention. While eight of them will represent the Ashta Nayikas, the ninth one will be a bridge between them all.

Epitomising beauty, grace and the elegance of the feminine form, nine of Bengaluru’s best young talents – Shivaranjani Harish, Prathibha Ramaswamy, Preethi Bharadwaj, Sneha Devanandan, Aranya Narain, Matangi Prasan, Aparna Shastry, Shruti Gopal and Rasika Kiran have been roped in for this production. “Although they come from different teachers, they have developed their own identity and method of expression, needless to say, they add a little bit of their own personality to my vision,” says Kiran. Sparking off a moment of sheer pride and joy of seeing their students on stage, the couple is excited for another reason too. Their daughter, Rasika, after whom their institute the Rasika Arts Foundation for promoting the arts is named after, will also be a part of this spectacle. “It is heartening to see the younger generation of classical dancers embrace this classicality with so much passion and conviction. With this presentation, I wish to give back to classical dance what it has given to me and to help continue the propagation and performance of this art through the next generation,” says Kiran.