Janani Ganesh presented her Bharathanatyam Arangetram on August 13, 2023 at the Newton North High School, delighting the audience with a diverse repertoire of pieces and showcasing her techniques in the artform. Janani is a student of Guru Sridevi Ajai Thirumalai, the artistic director of the Natyamani School of Dance. Guru Sridevi, known for her utmost attention to perfection and poise, curates each arangetram to the student’s most shining qualities, and Janani’s was no exception. 

Janani began her arangetram with a trikalam Mallari in Gambheera Nattai. In this invocatory piece, Janani sought the blessings of Lord Nataraja, Guru Sridevi, the orchestra, and the audience while also exhibiting her skillful nritta, or pure dance, in three speeds. This was followed by Vallabha Nayakasya, a song in praise of Lord Ganesha. Here, we got a glimpse of Janani’s beautiful abhinaya, as she described the exquisite qualities of the elephant-headed god. The audience next saw an Abhogi Jathiswaram, where Janani commanded the stage with her precise hand movements, intricate footwork, and commendable form. 

The following piece was Janani Janani Janani, a powerful krithi praising the divine mother Narayani. Janani extolled the beauty of Goddess Kamakshi through her powerful and demure expressions, and her actions were accompanied with unique and complex footwork, another trademark of Guru Sridevi’s school. 

Following a musical interlude, Janani performed the central piece of her arangetram, Kola Mayil Vahanane, a varnam in praise of Lord Muruga, set in the ragam Shanmukapriya. Throughout this entire composition, Janani polishedly displayed her well-practiced nritta, nritya, nattya capabilities. The varnam was interspersed with complicated and demanding jathis, through which Janani showcased her unwavering talam sense in each beat. In the lyrical portion of the varnam, Janani depicted the meaning of each line and showcased her deep understanding of each story. Of most notable mention was Janani’s sanchaari on Lord Muruga and Valli’s courtship. Janani clearly transformed between each character, being Lord Muruga disguised as an old man, Valli, and even the rogue elephant that forces Valli to agree to the marriage. Each character had their own distinct expressions portrayed with so much genuinity and Janani truly made the audience see this story through a deeper and more internalized lens. 

The second half of the recital began with Gaanamazhai, a raagamalika piece in praise of Lord Krishna, which was especially memorable for Janani’s charming depiction of Krishna’s playful and melodious nature. The following piece was Kapali Nee Dayanidhi, a commanding piece on Lord Shiva, also known as Kapali and Umapathi. This dance included powerful choreography, story depictions of how the Lord drank poison to save the world, and a nritta-packed chittai swaram, all which Janani executed to the highest caliber. Next came Allarulu, a peaceful and lively composition in the popular ragam Shankarabharanam. Filled with lilting steps, Janani showcased the joy and radiance of Goddess Alamelumanga. 

Janani concluded her arangetram with a fast-paced Kalinganarthana Thillana in the ragam Suruti. Despite it being the last piece of an arduous recital, Janani persevered and delivered this complex thillana with grace and energy, just as she had started her arangetram. Succeeding the thillana was the upbeat bhajan, Rama Neela Megha Shyama. This vibrant and spirited song was the perfect ending to the program, as Janani’s devotion was palpable. Following the bhajan, Janani thanked Lord Nataraja, Guru Sridevi, the orchestra, and the audience for the extremely successful completion of her debut performance. 

Throughout the arangetram, Janani was accompanied by an exceptionally talented orchestra, mostly composed of rising performing artists from the New England area. Janani had two of her gurus on stage supporting her throughout her recital – Guru Sridevi on the Nattuvangam and Guru Tara Bangalore on the violin. Amrita Ajai Thirumalai and Medha Jayendran were the vocalists of the evening, and played a large role of invoking all of Janani’s emotions throughout the repertoire. Tarun Bangalore (mridangam) and Sudarshan Ajai Thirumalai (rhythm pad) accompanied Janani through every beat of every song. The embellishments that the percussionists added at the perfect moments truly brought the music and dance to another level. The entire event was masterfully conducted by Sahana Venkatesh, who spoke with utmost clarity and presence for each introduction. 

The arangetram was followed by speeches from all three of Janani’s Gurus, Guru Sridevi, Guru Tara, and Guru Durga Krishnan, and a felicitation for all the artists. Janani will be attending Northeastern University to pursue a major in Behavioral Neuroscience, and also hopes to continue her dance and music journey for many years to come. 

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