Ketaki blends vivid expressions with swift movement of feet

CHANDIGARH, Aug 6: An evening of traditional Bharatanatyam by young Ketaki Narayan brought the curtains down on the first phase of the Golden Jubilee celebrations of India’s Independence. Organised jointly by the UT Administration, the Chandigarh Lalit Kala Academy and the North Zone Cultural Centre, the week-long programme provided a golden chance to hear and see some of the reigning virtuousos of Indian classical music and dance.

Ketaki, a disciple of Sonal Mansingh, was a picture of precision and composure as she provided a fine blend of both the descriptive and the expressive formats of the dance form. The training that she got in `Abhinaya’ from Kalanidhi Narayan came to the fore in the moving rendition of Meera Bhajan. `Maro pranam’ saw Ketaki’s vivid expressions, heightened by Sreedhar’s touching singing, to bring the devotion in Meera to its fullest conviction.

Ketaki presented an impressive set of items beginning with the Pushpanjali and winding up with a well-elaborated Tillana. Her swift movements were a pleasure to watch as she danced the cosmic dance of Shiva in the `Anandanatanam aadinaar’ to the vibrant notes on Chandrasekhar’s Mridangam. Indeed Ketaki showed the promises in her that had been receiving appreciative reviews of late. But, unfortunately, only a handful of people was there to encourage this bright young girl.