Arpana

Stepping their steps from Singapore they landed in Bangalore just to present their show "arpana" on the 23rd december in ADA rangamandira. they are the twin sisters Shubhra and Sowmya Ojha deciples of Guru Siri Rama and daughters of Radhika and Vedanth Ojha in the presence of Bhavani Ramanath the guest of honour, Jayalakshmi the chief guest and Mini Parthasarathy the specail guest.

As they began their first steps on stage there was no coordination at all between the two, the expressions what they gave was very coonstant.

The first item Mallari was in Raga Gambheera Naati set to Adi tala where they portrayed the Nava Rasa's. This concept was very good but the way they expressed the Rasa's was pathetic, the difference between the rasa's was not found

"Varnam" was in raga reetigowlai set to adi thaala, here they protrayed lord krishna, the item required a lot of grace which the dancers lacked in to expect grace from these kids of age 14 is difficult as their body will not be that developed. The second half of the varnam was very lively.

The balance and expressions slowly improved as they moved on and got adjusted to the stage.

"Mahishasuramardhini stuti" in ragas punagavarali hamsanandhi and revathi set to aadi thaala. this item mainly comprises of expression. the expression that they showed was not bright and effective. only the fight sequence was effective.

"Ramagovinda" was in raaga avirbhairav set to mishra chapu taala in this item they depicted the ten avatars. It was portrayed very short, clear and sweet, the girls did a wornderful job by conveying it clearly to the audience.

"Sarpa Mayura" was in raagamaalika set to aadi thaala this was their their best performance of the day. they came with head gears of sarpa and mayura which made it more interesting.

"The expressions they gave were not enough to hit the last set of audience. the choreography, concept and music was amazing it just that these girls didnt carry it that well" says Anusha a dancer in the audience.

Their wornderful, beautiful dance was made more lively, interesing by the most talented ensambles

Dr. Siri Rama - Natuvangam

Smt Bhagya Murthy- Vocal

Shri G Gurmurthy - Mrudangam

Shri Ganavenuthan Retnam - Flute

Shri R Dayakar - Violen

Shri V Gopal - Veena

"These are the two flowers which blossom in the garden of Bharathanatyam and the garden is in Singapore " says Bhavani the Guest of Honour."We are into bliss, water and ether are present in them which helped me get into Ananda " says Jayalakshmi the Chief Guest.

Overall it was a wonderful performance by the little girls. they were tiny, energy packets in them which blasted out in each item. Their energy and confidence was maintained throughout their performance. They could neither speak nor understand kannada but they moved their jazzy feet and expressed to the rhythms of kannada songs.

I feel these girls must be given a standing ovation for keeping up the Indian culture and tradion in Singapore.

"This evening took me back to my life as a teenager and a dancer it was that inspiring" says Mini Parthasarathy the Special Guest for that evening.