Parshwanath Upadhyay performing in Shri Krishna Gana Sabha. , Photo Credit: Raghu R
Bharatanatyam dancer Parshvanath Upadhyay has carved a niche for himself. He has an excellent sense of timing and is extremely agile. Besides this, he is a consummate dramatist who leaves no stone unturned to add some spice to his classical performances.
However, one can agree and disagree with their methods. He presented the composition (‘Ninandodi Vanden’, Ragamalika, Taalmalika, K. Ponnaiah Pillai) in the Sri Krishna Gana Sabha in one unbroken flow, devoid of markers, such as Arudi for Theermanam and Thattu-mettu sequences. It underscored his time and attention and provided a surprising ‘aha’ moment. Thattu mettu ended, and the jathi began in the next taal. When he finished, the presentation of the song started on the next beat. Without repeating pallavi or charanam, the piece had the added complexity of seven talas and ragas.
He started with ‘Sri Chamundeshwari Palayamam’ (Bilahari, Adi, Mysore Vasudevachar), which was influential for its melody and Parshvanatha’s deep arimandi and fleet-footedness.
Taking liberties with literary meanings, even if it reflects similar sentiments, is a definite no-no. In the Saptalaragmalika fragment that speaks of a heroine’s yearning for Shiva’s attention, Parshvanatha compares her yearning to that of Ravana as a devotee of Shiva.
He filled the literature with his thoughts – ‘I am thinking of you; I go into the woods, I search here and there. I know the mountain where you are; (Smiling) You will come with me and Goddess Parvati will get angry.’ And then in ‘Manthil..’, ‘Shiva is meditating, I will perform aarti, ring the bell, blow the drum and the conch shell loudly; He is not hearing any of this. It’s a fresh approach, quite dramatic and quite impactful, although it can be very chaotic with no space to deepen the emotion.
Parshvanath’s footwork was soft, the overused heel not allowing for hard stamping. This is true of most busy dancers. Parshwanath made up for it with his quickness and flexibility – his frequent Nattadavu lunges were proof of that.
The structure of the composition was different – it is not varnam, nor keertnam, just seven sections of swara, sahitya and swara marga. Raga and Taal are also named in literature. It is a rare piece belonging to the Thanjavur Quartet family, written by Kittappa Pillai’s father. Parshvanath had inserted some rhythmic Thermanams in between. Performed with Swara Marg, it was very danceable.
Again the ‘choodare’ padam (Sahana, Mishra Chapu, Kshetrayya) which is usually presented in the form of women gossiping about a married woman who is going to meet Muvagopala, regardless of whether What others may say, backfired. The protagonist is an unemployed man who sees and proposes to a woman; He ignores her ‘no’ and is slapped for his advances. It was funny and thoroughly caricatured, though far removed from the original context. Parshvanatha had taken advantage of the literal meaning by omitting the last charanam that mentions Muvva Gopala.
Parsvanath signed with a peppy Kuntalavarali Thillana (Adi, M. Balamuralikrishna). Their high energy and theatricality can charm even the harshest critics.