Vidyalatha Jeerage

1.Pushpanjali

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Raaga: Saraswathi      

Taala: Adi   

Composer: Dr. Sanjay Shantaram 

Choreography: Smt. Vidyalatha Jeerage 

 

Pushpanjali is the first dance in a performance. It is the salutation to the lord of dance Nataraja, the Guru and the audience and humbly asks for blessings by offering flowers. Followed by Gajavadhanam, where dancers constantly praise of Ganeshwara the elephant-faced, who is the lord of Devas. The one who provides us with knowledge and siddhi. The lord whose feet are like lotus and who loves modaka. He was his mother Gaowri’s loved one. We worship this lord loved by one and all. 

 

2) Devi Item : Bhoomaathe

Raaga:     Hindola                            

Taala:Aadi 

Composer: Dr Sanjay Shantaram 

Choreography: Smt. Vidyalatha Jeerage 

 

Goddess earth , bhumathe, without whom dancing would be impossible. The dancer, with Bhakthi flowing pleads with the eternally beautiful goddess, bhudevi, one whose chest is adorned by the mountains, one who drapes the lush greenery as a saree, who adorns her head with fresh scented flowers, one who stole the heart of lord Vishnu himself , to forgive her for stamping hard on the ground and tributes her dance and music to the goddess , beloved sister of lord Shiva .... Bhumathe jaganmathe in raga hindolam, aditala , penned by Guru Kala Arathi Ratna Dr Sanjay Shantaram .

 

3) Jathiswaram

Raaga: Abhogi 

Taala: Aadi

Choreography: Guru Narmada

 

The rhythmic aspect becomes more brisk and a little more complicated in the Jathiswaram. This is done to music which has notes set to a particular combination of patterns, and the dance movements follow the music so precisely that one feels that movement draws a visual picture of the music. Each line of the music is set to 'Jatis,' as the rhythmic sequences are called.

 

4) Shiva Stuti (Shankara Shrigiri)

Raaga: Hamsanandi    

Tala: Aadi   

Composer: Swathi Thirunal  

Jathi Composition: Vidwan Sri Janardhan Rao 

Choreography: Smt. Vidyalatha Jeerage 

 

In the Chitra Sabha, Lord Sankara - the god of mountain is dancing.With the holy ash and third eye on the forehead, the garland of Rudraksha adorning the neck he dances along with Bhringi and other Bhuta Ganas. The celestials and ascetics appear on the sky, playing the instruments with the sound of Tanana-Tanana and Ghum-Ghum'. Even the crores of Cupids feel ashamed witnessing Shiva dancing beautifully. With the perfect melody and Laya he dwells in the heart of lord Padumanabha. Jathis for this item are set by Sri Janardhan Rao. 

 

5) Varnam

 Raaga: Reetigowla    

Tala: Aadi  

Music Composer: Sri Tirumale Srinivas

Choreography: Guru Narmada 

 

Selected lines from Shri Krishna Ashtottara Shantanam.

 

Krishna, the all attractive Supreme Personality of Godhead, known as Lord Vasudeva, is the Lord of Lakshmi-devi, eternal, the transcendental son of Vasudeva, pure, and His form resembles that of a human being. Krishna is the son of Devaki-devi and Nanda Maharaja

 

He broke the tall palm-trees (in Talavana) and killed demon Dhenukasura, and His transcendental form is charmingly dark-complexioned like a dark tamala-tree. He is the lord of the entire earth, and He is also the Brahman effulgence, more splendid than millions of suns. He is the king of the Yadu dynasty and He is the most illustrious descendent of Maharaja Yadu.

 

Krishna’s beautiful feet were reddened by the rubies on the hoods of the Kaliya serpent. Krishna is the chariot driver of Arjuna, He is the ocean from which the nectar of Bhagavad-gita was churned.

 

Krishna  stole the saris of the gopis who were intent on playing in the water. krishna is praised by eloquent verses and it is He who creates the places of pilgrimage. He is knowable by the Vedas, and He is an ocean of mercy. 

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6) Jaavali - Varija Mukhi

 Raaga: Kamach    

Tala: Rupaka

Choreography: Smt. Vidyalatha Jeerage  

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A javali is an expressive Bharatanatyam number with colloquial lyrics and faster tempos than padams. Javalis usually feature the nayika addressing her beloved, or the divine being, from a human level. The symbolism is not refined to the level of a padam, and the specific types of nayikas featured in javalis differ accordingly.

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   7)  Druthanagaveene - Nruthya Geethe (ದೃತನಾಧವೀಣೆ - ನೃತ್ಯ  ಗೀತೆ) 

Raaga: Mishra Kalyani   

Tala: Aadi  

Lyrics: Sri Goturi  

Composer: Sri Praveen D Rao

Choreography: Shri Sanjay Shantaram

 

Antahapurageethe penned by veteran lyricist Sri goturi and tuned by Sri Praveen d Rao , ace musician, Bengaluru. Describing the beautiful sculpture of a Balika , beholding the snake shaped veena which she plays in melancholy , with an intoxicating smile. Here feet are placed like the walk of a swan, full of the shrungara rasa , her slender body adapting to scintillating postures. The melodious piece is set to raga mishra Kalyani and aditalam

 

8) Amba Jagath Janani

Raaga: Ranjani 

Taala: Adi 

Composer: Sri Balasubramanya Sharma 

Choreography: Smt. Vidyalatha Jeerage 

 

9) Thillana

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Raaga: Jog

Taala: Adi 

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Thillana is a brisk and a lively number performed towards the end of a concert. Usually a Bharatanatyam concert culminates with a Thillana. The lyrics contain sollukattu like Dheem Nadir Dheem or Dheem Ta na Di tIllana. Origin of Thillana can be traced to the Tarana of Hindustani music. A Thillana uses tala-like phrases in the pallavi and anupallavi, and lyrics in the charanam.

 

I am so grateful to you Lord Shiva, for letting me witness your Natya. You, Lord of Dance, are the supreme God. Thank you so much.