06-08-2025
Young Shruthipriya Vignesh impressed with her mature abhinaya
The story of 'Shiva Deeksha', a padam composed by Ghanam Seenaiya in raga Kurinji, goes thus: the nayika, who has taken deeksha from her guru to serve Shiva, focuses on the rituals of daily worship. At that moment, she is distracted by Mannaru Ranga (Vishnu), who entices her. The nayika, now in a dilemma, is torn between her devotion to Shiva and her love for Vishnu. Choreographed by Nityakalyani Vaidhyanathan, this composition was the highlight of the performance by Shruthipriya Vignesh. It was part of The Music Academy's Mid-year Dance Festival.
Shruthipriya portrayed in detail the entire process of the nayika preparing for the daily rituals. Her expressions aptly conveyed the heroine's state of mind.
Shruthipriya commenced her performance with a guru stuti followed by the classic Anandabhairavi Swarajathi, 'Sakhiye indha velaiyil', by the Thanjavur Quartet. The dancer transitioned from the nayika to a sakhi effortlessly, even as she described the grandeur of the Mannargudi temple and its presiding deity, Rajagopalaswamy. The nritta passages were executed gracefully with firm footwork.
Next she presented 'Adahothale makkalu, a composition by Purandaradasa that speaks about little Krishna complaining about the cowherds teasing him. Shruthipriya's rendition captured the essence of the piece.
The dance recital concluded with a thillana in Brindavana Saranga, Adi tala, composed by Madurai N. Krishnan. Hariprasad on the vocal, Govindarajan on the mridangam, E. Devaraj on the flute, N. Anantha Narayanan on the veena, provided the musical support. Nithyakalyani Vaidhyanathan conducted the recital with finesse.
