Dr. Vyjayanthimala Bali's performance on the final day of the month long Sri Ramanavami Celebrations of Sree Rama Seva Mandali at the Fort High School Grounds on May 14th 2006, Bangalore was a great inspiration to all students of Bharathanatyam, amateurs and professionals.

Dr. Vyjayanthimala is a legend whose tryst with Bharathanatyam spans several decades. It was a personal wish of this reporter to watch Dr. Bali live in her recital, and Sree Rama Seva Mandali was the right opportunity - something that cannot be missed. At the age of 70 plus, she still reminds us of the dancing eyes, grace and beauty that dominated the silver screen for several decades. Age has indeed made this legend more beautiful.

This article is more to do with the impact Dr. Bali has on viewers than a report on what items she performed, and what ragam and talam they were set on.

Bharathanatyam is a visual art. Dancers have to take utmost care to be physically fit, and have a good physical appearance to appeal to the audience. The most important aspect for a dancer is to have enough stamina and the ability to sustain the energy levels from the beginning of a recital to the last minute on stage. One has to watch Dr. Bali to truly understand what sustenance means and how it fosters greater levels of appreciation from the audience.

The perfect ambience was set. The Bhakthi rasa was sustained throughout the performance. Every movement, every expression, the sthanakas, the naatyarambham, her grace, her completion of nritta to a logical end, and her stamina spoke of her selfless dedication and passion to the great art form.

Focus on Lord Rama

All her items were focused on Lord Rama, providing various shades of Bhakthi and total surrender to His golden feet. From the invocatory Thyagaraja Kriti Vandanamu Raghunandana in Ragam Sahana, Adi Talam, Dr Bali set the mood of devotion and moved on to perform the popular Brochevarevarura of Mysore Vasudevacharya in Ragam Kamach and Adt talam presented in the Varnam format.

Her angashuddam, her aramandi and her neat finishing of theermanas was a pleasure to watch. So were her crisp sancharis on Ahalya Shaapa Vimochanam, the episode of the payasam distributed by King Dasharatha to his three queens, and Rama - Sita Kalayanam. In the abhinaya piece, Nannu Vidachi Kadalakura in Ragam Reetigowlam and Mishra Chapu talam, a composition of Saint Thyagaraja, Dr. Bali's portrayal of the poet's anguish at the separation of Lord Rama struck a chord. The Bhakthi and surrender and the sadness that the Saint attached to even the thought of Lord Rama abandoning him was communicated with utmost pain and Bhakthi.

On a lighter note, she continued with an extract of Rama Natakam by Arunachala Kaviraayar in Ragam Hindolam and Adi Talam, where Kaikeyi describes her happiness at the news of Rama's pattabhishekam to Manthara, her old maid. Dr. Bali etched perfectly the happiness, pride and conviction of Kaikeyi that Rama, the eldest of all, was indeed the right person to ascend the throne. She concluded the recital with a rare Rama - Sita slokam.

In this age of contemporary dance and fusion dance Dr. Bali made a strong statement through her performance. Traditional performances delineated perfectly with utmost passion, clear communication through mudras (hand gestures) and drishti (eyes), and simple nrittha (pure dance) will always attract the attention of the audience and leave them spell bound and one with the dancer. This is no mean achievement. Nothing can be more difficult than communicating clearly to the audience through the idiom of Bharathanatyam. Keep it simple and clear and the audience will follow everything the dancer has to communicate. A very basic truth of Bharathanatyam, but a truth that is hard for dancers to achieve.

External Glitches

Our media always has a penchant for unscrupulous behavior. One wondered why the press and media were hell bent on photographing the chief guest for the evening, His Excellency the Governor of Karnataka to the extent of blocking the artist performing. Audience seated away from the platform had to strain their necks to focus on Dr. Bali. Considering there were several senior citizens who had taken great pains to sit for a long show and watch Dr. Bali, this was unacceptable and insensitive of the media.

The anchor for the evening left much to be desired. While explaining the theoretical nuances of Bharathanatyam, her intonation and pronunciation of certain Tamil and Telegu words were terrible. Bad pronunciation takes away the beauty of the concepts of the art form. It shows the disinterest of the anchor to communicate clearly and irritates the knowledgeable few.