Nina Rajarani explores the Sevens in Bharatanatyam-Kathak presentation

On 6 December 2024, Nina Rajarani Dance Creations premiered their work ‘Sevens’ at the IHC Delhi. The event was supported by, among others, Ganesa Natyalaya, with Guru Rama Vaidyanathan presenting the production at IHC. Nina’s work ‘Sevens’ is a three-part production that explores the number seven in various ways – as seven snags or obstacles, seven steps and, finally, seven sins. Nina used two dance forms, Kathak and Bharatnatyam, and group choreographies to showcase her work. ‘Sevens’ features original music score by composers Y. Yadavan and Shammi Pithia, performances by five dancers and three musicians and commissioned work by a costume designer, a dramaturg and a lighting designer. It was created in 2021 with funding from Arts Council England. The dancers, apart from Nina herself, were Suhani Dhanki, Abirami Eswar, Mithun Gill and Sankari Mridha. Costumes were by Delhi’s very own Sandhya Raman, lighting design by Chris Cuthbert and dramaturgy by Lou Cope.

Nina Rajarani

Nina Rajarani, who was awarded an MBE (Member of the British Empire) in the British Queen’s 2009 Birthday Honours in recognition of her services to South Asian dance, is a UK-based Bharatanatyam exponent and educator. She did her Bharatanatyam training under Prakash Yadagudde at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan’s London branch and has also trained with Chitra Visweswaran and the Dhananjayans. She founded her dance school Srishti in London in 1991. Her husband, Yadav Yadavan, a Carnatic music vocalist and teacher, teaches there and tours with its productions.

Seven Snags

The first section was Seven Snags, a fast-paced rhythmic ensemble filled with dynamics and cross-rhythm. The idea was that of courtship as an obstacle race. The costume of the dancers was yellow and white. 

 

The kurtas were given an interesting shape and the dancers had a lot of flowing white fabric. The vocalist, Y. Yadavan, and the two musicians, Shammi Pithia on flute and Vijay Venkat on violin, were all part of the dance as they walked around and interacted with the dancers. The dancers depicted youths flirting, teasing and frolicking. 

 

They danced in pairs, as in conversation, in youthful teasing and at the same time, rejoicing at the rhythm, which was more contemporary. The pairs danced in changing and alternating patterns. It was a fun piece with both Bharatnatyam and Kathak taking a contemporary hue.

Seven Steps

Nina Rajarani and Yadav Yadavan

The next piece was Seven Steps, based on the saptapadi in Hindu marriages. The piece was danced by Nina herself and her husband, Y. Yadavan, on the vocals, accompanying her. The composition is about the next phase in a love story, where the two lovers are tied in marriage and in circumambulating the fire, they make seven promises to each other. 

 

They were both dressed in red. The chemistry of the couple was quite apparent on stage. They started by sitting together on stage while Yadavan whistled. The first step is that they nourish each other; second, they give each other strength, stay united in their decisions, enjoy worldly pleasures together. Next, the fifth promise, is nurturing of all life forms, six, always together in all seasons, seven, compromise and openly give and take. 

 

As Yadavan moved around Nina, she presented the piece in Bharatnatyam. She showed the ghoonghat and ornaments of a new bride. The two admiringly look at each other as they engage in an embrace, holding each other in a kiss. They go on to look and admire all life forms – animals, birds, plants, with Nina depicting elephants, deer, birds, and nourish them. 

 

Through the different seasons, when lotuses bloom, the rain falls, the seedlings become trees with creepers entwined, the two vow to stay together as friends. As Nina covered the stage in nritta, the two held hands and moved around the stage to give a blissful ending to the piece. 

Seven Sins

The final piece was a break from the blissful camaraderie of the previous piece. This was called the Seven Sins. Sins have been decoded as the ethically right and wrong in human nature, as the manifestations of unmet desires and frustrations in life which then get transported to become difficult and distressful situations in life. The costumes for this piece had dark colours like grey, green, dull mustard and black, the colours of the dark side of humans. 

 

The first sin depicted was lust. There is a very thin line between love and lust. Lust is purely physical pleasure and that is exactly how it was shown. The two dancers moved to contemporary music. They writhed, they touched each other with hands moving sensuously, they grooved together with intertwined fingers. The girl slouched over the prone male dancer. Later, somebody commented that so much of physicality is rare on Indian dance stages. The violin playing was intense. 

Wrath, the second sin, totally controls our being. The dancers jumped and took chakkars with anger and intense fear as their expression. Envy or jealousy is the next, where desires and inadequacies take over our minds. The depiction showed dancers looking at each other’s ornaments, snatching them and then looking into the mirror after wearing the loot. 

 

The subsequent sin is greed, which is desperation to get more and more. The dancers performed jumping, snatching and grabbing movements. The next sin is gluttony or trying to gorge yourself on more of everything. 

 

The sin that comes next is laziness or sloth. This depiction was impressive – the dancers slouched on each other with their eyes shut like sloths. With the aalaap in the background, the dancers were shown to fall on each other and then trying to lift each other. 

 

Together, they fall on the floor, heaped limply on each other. 

 

The last is pride or arrogance, when we know that we are inadequate inside but on the outside, we put up a façade of achievements. 

 

The dancers smirked as they gestured to show boasting, accompanied by nritta with bols and footwork.
It was an evening of very thoughtfully conceptualized and choreographed pieces which were relatable.

 

The three musicians on stage with their instruments added a new twist because that is not the norm in Delhi. I am sure it must have required a lot of technical support. The entire production was well thought out and choreographed. The costumes by Sandhya were very impressive.