By Anu Chitrapu
Guru Jayshree Rajamani’s words that nothing is impossible if you keep an open mind, were proved true by Hema Gopalan, a mother of two boys who fulfilled her long time dream of performing her bharatanatyam arangetram.
Hema’s dance journey began at the tender age of 6 in the city of Mumbai, India. From the very first day of class she dreamed of the day she would ascend the stage. Hema’s dance journey was interrupted at various points due to many reasons but Hema’s goal of ascending the stage remained strong. Her dance dream took a back seat as career and motherhood came to the forefront. The stars aligned in her favor this year and she was able to present a complete program to an audience of her family, friends, well wishers and most importantly her mother, Mrs. Vyjayanthi Gopalan.
“Today, I fulfill my dream of performing on stage, with an audience of teachers, friends and family, as a testimony for the indomitable spirit that lives in all of us,” said Hema Gopalan.
The program started off with a Pushpanjali, followed by Jatiswaram. Hema did full justice to the Varnam, the pièce de ré·sis·tance of the program. Special kudos to Jayshree for the choreography of all 3 pieces, particularly the varnam, where the choreography leveraged and showcased the emotions that Hema as a woman and a mother could express.
The second half of the program started off with a tribute to goddess Meenakshi who resides in the city of Madurai. This was followed by Ardhanareeswara Ashtakam, a piece showing the concept of the equality between the male and female principles that maintain the equilibrium in the universe”. The next piece, the Astapadi, showed the playful interactions between Lord Krishna and the gopikas. Both pieces were choreographed by eminent bharatanatyam dancer Rama Vaidyanathan. The program ended with the traditional Thillana and Mangalam, choreographed by Jayshree Rajamani.
The accompanying artists provided the perfect music for the program. Vocalist Uma Sankar, a resident of Shrewsbury is no stranger to the arangetram ecosystem here in Boston. A well known and popular accompanying artist for arangetrams, Uma runs the Sruthilayaa School of Music where she trains students in Carnatic Music. Mridangist Mali Santhanakrishnan, a disciple of Vidwan Late Sri P. Srinivasa Iyer of Chennai, teaches mridangam in the greater Boston area. Violinist Pranav Swaroop, currently a student of Lalgudi GKR Krishnan, is a much sought after young artist and has accompanied many well known vocalists. Skanda Rao, on the flute, is currently learning from Shashank Subramanyam and has been playing flute from the age of 8.
Meena Subramanyam, guest of honor for the evening, is a dancer herself and quoted Martha Graham when she referred to Hema’s single minded focus to enrich her learning experience from many Gurus and to stage her arangetram. “Great dancers are not great because of their technique, but because of their passion.” Meena remarked that the “eloquence” and spontaneity in Hema’s abhinaya reflected her “manodharma” or ability to imagine herself in the role.
Well known Odissi dancer, Mouli Pal, who welcomed the audience and closed the show said, “As Hema’s friend and Odissi teacher, I have observed her intense desire to perform a solo Margam. At the arangetram it was as if the seed had blossomed into a beautiful tree. Her energy, stamina, footwork and abhinaya were exquisite.”
Hema’s dance journey was guided by many dance teachers, all of whom she says had a part to play in inspiring and getting her ready for the aranagetram. Her first guru was Late Shri Guru Mani of Kalasadan, Mumbai, India. In the Boston region she received guidance, tutelage and advice from Smt. Sridevi Thirumalai, Smt. Jothi Raghavan, Smt. Ranjani Saigal, Smt. Anandini Shekhar and Smt. Sunanda Narayanan.
The evening was not just an evening of dance, but one where the audience left inspired to pursue their dreams with many resolving to get back to their passions.
Guru Jayshree Rajamani’s love for the art form and her commitment to teaching it to those who want to learn was very evident at this arangetram. As she put it very eloquently, “Bharathanatyam is an accepting dance form. It does not discriminate on gender, religion or age. You have to just open your mind and heart to learning.”
