The Greater Boston area is booming with Indian classical arts year round, however the summer time is when there is a flourish of talent and potential showcased with arangetrams and debut performances. Aishwarya Ananthakrishnan, student of Guru Smt. Deepa Srinath Bungale at Vaibhava Dance School, gave her Bharathanatyam arangetram on June 28th, 2026 in Littleton High School. A rising junior at Phillips Academy Andover and  dance student who has been learning for well over a decade, Aishwarya displayed her knowledge in a beautiful margam, curated and choreographed with such fine detail by her Guru. The performance was filled with a range of emotions, particularly shades of bhakti and love carried out by Aishwarya through her execution of expression and stage presence.

Following an introduction by Aishwarya’s brothers, the program began with a prayer song to Lord Ganesha by the orchestra, featuring Sri Nandakumar Unnikrishnan (vocal), Sri Karthik Vydhatri (mridangam/percussion), Sri Ravi Kulur (flute), Sri Pranav Swaroop Bettagere (violin). The dulcet harmony of these musicians set the tone for the beginning of Aishwarya’s margam, as Guru Deepa introduced the first piece.

Aishwarya commenced her arangetram with the invocation, a traditional pushpanjali in a ragamalika intertwined with rhythmic patterns set in a talamalika of swaras - swaragucha. Starting with a set series of rhythmic syllables (sollukattu) recited by her guru, Aishwarya crossed the stage while smiling as she received an excited welcome from her audience. Seeking the blessings of the divine, the orchestra, and the audience, she commenced her program with the namaskaram.

As is customary for most occasions, the auspicious blessing of Lord Ganesha is sought at the beginning to remove obstacles for the program. Following a sloka in his name, Aishwarya swiftly balanced nritta with her dancing and her bhava to depict the facets of Lord Vinayaka and the devotion one feels towards him. The god was shown with his elephant-headed form, the mouse as his vehicle, and his revered presence for positive beginnings. The musicians also carried this divine feeling as the song and ragam transitioned to honor the goddess of knowledge and music, Saraswati. With grace and elegance, Aishwarya transformed herself to show the goddess with her veena and the swan as her vehicle. With these deities praised between the swarams, the invocation gave an auspicious way and exciting start to Aishwarya’s margam.

The repertoire continued with a traditional piece found in margams, shabdam. The shabdam allows for the dancer to learn more of the story-telling elements found in classical dance, and serves as an ideal stepping stone into the exploratory nature of natya. This traditional shabdam was on Lord Hanuman, the son of the Wind God and ardent devotee of Lord Rama. Aishwarya narrated stories retelling his childhood as well as his journey to Lanka and the obstacles he faced before finding Sita. With each verse, she illuminated the underlying bhakti felt by Lord Hanuman, while also illustrating his strength and bravery among other qualities as his story unfolded. 

The audience was then taken into the world of Goddess Karpagambal, who lights up the world and grants the wishes of all those who seek her out. With a beautiful musical introduction in ragam Madhyamavathi by the flutist, Sri Ravi Kulur, the increase in anticipation served as the perfect lead up to see this version of Shakti brought forth by Aishwarya on stage. Aishwarya captured the poet, Papanasam Sivan’s plea to Goddess Karpagambal, to be graced with her look and compassion, while embodying the attributes of this form of the divine herself. Imbibed with the spiritual meaning of the composition, her expressive eyes carried the power of Karapagambal’s gaze while her composure maintained the grace and compassion felt by the goddess, bringing light and her blessing to those she touched.

The central piece of Aishwarya’s repertoire was the varnam, Sarasijakshudu nivani. A traditional composition of the Tanjore Quartet in which the nayaki asks out to her lover, Lord Krishna, as she awaits to be with him. Emerging as the nayaki, Aishwarya portrayed the loving and longing feeling of the heroine, emoting the pure romance and desire between her and Krishna, referred to as Lord Rajagopalaswamy of Mannargudi in this composition. In this more rare pada varnam of the Quartet, she depicted the various instances, with each line, that the nayaki eagerly requests the attention and arrival of her lotus-eyed lord. Using the stage, she set the scene of a night time, when she sneaks away while everyone is asleep to discretely meet her lover. She also transformed into the Lord of Mannargudi, who wore two mismatched earrings while in a rush, displaying the affection held between this form of Krishna and the protagonist. Both her subtle and deliberate changes in expressions pulled the audience to feel her yearning to unite with him, and to experience the burst of emotion at their reunion.

The choreography of this varnam, in both sanchari and jathis had so much grace woven into it. Aishwarya not only cleanly executed the jathis in sync with her teacher, Guru Deepa on nattuvangam, but did so with a flow and ease in her nritta, a result of her many years of training. Her maintenance of speed and movement could also be recognized during the second half of the varnam, with the flashes of different abhinaya that appeared with each charanam. This piece was a chance for the audience to get a taste of a more traditional pada varnam and experience the sringara rasa through Aishwarya’s stage presence as well as the musical rendition of Kalyani ragam by the orchestra.

Following an intermission, Aishwarya presented various stanzas of Saint Arunagirinathar’s Thiruppugazh in a bhakti-laden piece to start the second half of the program. She took the role of a devotee, who sought to see Lord Murugan and ventured on a journey to reach the temple atop the Palini mountain. Stories of Lord Murugan such as the Pranavakaram were illustrated, as well as the many physical and spiritual attributes of the son of Shiva and Parvati. With each stanza of this Tamil poem, she alternated between depicting these divine features and scenes and bringing her audience along with her on this trip to see the Lord atop the hill. From taking bath in the river, to walking on fire, to piercing the mouth with the spear, each episode portrayed brought the devotee closer to the temple, reminding the audience of the strength that exists within devotion. In the climactic final moments, the Lord was shown to reveal himself as the devotee ran across to witness, a reunion that Aishwarya epitomized with utmost bhakti.

            The next item Aishwarya presented was novel and completely nritta-oriented. Nandi-chol, in Misra-Thriputa Talam, was a conversation of rhythm on stage, paying homage to the Nandi, in his role as divine percussionist for Lord Nataraja. Multiple patterns structured together and an increase in tempo as the song progressed showcased the dancer’s technical prowess and understanding of tala. Featuring no lyrics, the vibrancy of the Guru Deepa’s sollukattu complimented the pure dance displayed by Aishwarya, signifying a seamless dialogue held between the dancer and nattuvangam.

The second half of Aishwarya’s aragetram margam also featured a unique composition, Nindha-Stuthi in ragam Bhimplas, by Saint Purandhara Dasa. Here, she played the nayaki, voicing her concerns to the audience about her friend, Parvathi marrying Shiva. In a twist of dramatic irony, she depicted the plight of the nayaki, questioning the relationship between these divine entities as she entered the marriage hall. By enacting the stark contrasts between Shakti and Shiva, while also reacting as the nayaki, Aishwarya’s smooth transitions in bhavam brought out the different characters present in the scene. Inviting us along with her to this wedding, a more modern and comedic take of this divine couple still carried forth the composer’s intention of a very personal spiritual relationship with the almighty.

The audience was swept up in the ragam of Brindavani as Aishwarya performed her thillana, bringing a sweet end to her margam. A composition by the great Dr. M. Balamuralikrishna, the thillana moved through varying speeds of nritta while praising Lord Krishna. Pairing the uplifting nature of the piece with the celebratory energy of the night, she danced through the thillana with power and poise, before pausing to look back on the journey in dance that had brought her to the stage — and to the successful completion of her arangetram.

            With a mangalam attributed to the Lord of the Arunachala hills, Aishwarya completed her namaskaram to a standing ovation and well-earned flowers showering her from above. Her brothers, family, and friends spoke to her dedication towards dance, expressing joy and pride in her milestone achievement.

            Aishwarya’s debut performance featured Smt. Aparna Balaji, Artistic Director of Abhyaas School of Music as the chief guest. As Aishwarya’s Carnatic music guru and a close friend and collaborator of Guru Deepa, Smt. Aparna spoke of the incredible accomplishments of both guru and student. She highlighted Aishwarya’s passion towards the arts and spoke of the innovative perspective Guru Deepa brings to the space and her students, exemplified by the repertoire of the night.

            Guru Deepa Srinath Bungale then bestowed a plaque, commemorating Aishwarya’s accomplishment and spoke about their shared journey over the past 10 years. She emphasized qualities of Aishwarya, including her sense of discipline as a student and her respect towards the artform, which shaped her growth both on and off stage. Heartfelt gratitude and celebration of this arangetram not only marked new beginnings for Aishwarya but also for Guru Deepa who would be starting her next chapter in India.

Finally, Aishwarya took to the podium, reflecting on the mutual love between herself and dance. She described  Bharathanatyam as a language through which she expresses and shares herself with others, poetically expressing that the artform gives back to the dancer just as much as the dancer gives to it.

            It cannot go without saying that a significant part of this successful program and the overall enjoyment was due to the musical presence on stage. The rich voice of Sri Nandakumar Unnikrishnan paired with melodious notes played by Sri Ravi Kulur on the flute and Sri Pranav Swaroop Bettagere on the violin transported the audience to different atmospheres. Each ragam was brought to life with remarkable precision, allowing the bhava of the performance to resonate fully with the audience. Meanwhile the mridangam and percussion intensity of Sri Karthik Vydhatri— evident in his executions of the varnam jathis and Nandi-Chol — added a rhythmic vitality to the pieces. The temple bells, too, played their part, summoning a sense of sacred presence and sanctity throughout.

Every debut performance carries a weight to deliver as a dancer and to not just capture the audience but impress them. Aishwarya Ananthakrishnan demonstrated her years of hard work on stage in an effortless manner. Her dancing and the ambience of the traditional and more innovative margam pieces brought the audience with her on a series of emotions, all rooted in bhakti towards both the divine and Bharathanatyam itself. Congratulations to Aishwarya and her Guru, Smt. Deepa on the completion of this beautiful arangetram!

Shilpa Narayanan is a Bharathanatyam dancer, teacher, and senior disciple of Smt. Sujatha Meyyappan. She has been dancing for over 15 years, and has danced in various programs and competitions in the New England area. She has also been both a mentor and assistant director for multiple Bharathanatyam dance productions and is a teacher for Kolam Academy of Dance. With a background in biology and clinical research, Shilpa will be pursuing a Master’s in Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuropsychology at Birkbeck, University of London in the Fall.