Suhail Bhan introduces Gauravi Singh in his first arangetram as a guru

Gauravi Singh

The arangetram of Gauravi Singh was hosted by her guru, Suhail Bhan, on 25 February 2024 at the India International Centre. Suhail Bhan is a disciple of Guru Justin McCarthy and an established soloist who has been teaching at the Shri Ram Bharatiya Kala Kendra. The arangetram of Hyderabad-based Gauravi was his first arangetram as a teacher. I reached a little late and so could not attend the entire performance.
Gauravi began with a Natraj kauthuvam in raga Hamsadhwani, taal aadi. Next was an alarippu venerating the female divinity, using the poses and attributes of the Devi, in raag Revathi, taal maalika. The third item was a jathiswaram in raag Kalyani, taal rupakam. The fourth item was a shabdam in raag maalika, taal mishra chapu. 

The shabdam was followed by a violin rendition by G. Raghavendra Prasath which sounded like the humming of the bees. This interlude was very melodious, with the accompaniment of mridangam and ghatam. It was followed by a dress change by Gauravi. 

The next, the centre piece of her performance, was a varnam in raag Shankarabharnam, taal adi. The nayika pleads with Lord Shiva to come and be united with her as she longs for him. She says he should give up his annoyance at her and meet her. The piece showed Gauravi’s rigorous training in nritta. She performed the jatis with sharp hastas and footwork, balancing postures, leg lifts and squats. Her abhinaya, though, had an understated tone. While the following padam was done with sensitive abhinaya, the thillana revealed Gauravi’s hold on the nritta. The finale, performed to Vande Mataram, was an enjoyable piece rendered effortlessly by Gauravi taking expansive moves. Her stage coverage was good.

Suhail is a dancer who has mastered his form and dances with flair. Gauravi is his disciple and his first arangetram. My congratulations and best wishes to both. Gauravi visited the entire margam and in over an hour, her stamina and energy did not flag. Her posture and araimandi are good, her footwork and nritta are accurate. Her hastas are sharp and expansive. Her abhinaya is subtle though she needs to work on her expressions. Her eyes, particularly, need to express and connect with the audience. On the whole, it was a pleasant experience to watch her. 

The programme featured Suhail on the nattuvangam, Satish Venkatesh on vocals, Manohar Balatchandirane on mridangam, G. Raghavendra Prasath on violin, Varun Rajasekharan on ghatam and Sanjay Tripathi on light design, with costumes by Sohan Lal.