Reveled by the Reddys
The lights dimmed and you could hear the musicians ascend the stage. The faint 'jhumur' of the ghungru could be heard if you really paid close attention. As the lights came on and the musicians, Kaushalya in nattuvangam (cymbals), Kiran in venu (flute), Lavanya in vocal and Bhaskar Rao in Mridangam, began in sync, Kuchipudi dance exponents and one of the first classical dancing couples of India, Raja and Radha Reddy graced the stage to pray to Lord Ganesh with a Ganapati Vandana. They mesmerised the audience into the prayer with them.
The next performance was a Tandava on Lord Shiva - Kalinga Narthana, performed by Raja and Radha Reddy's daughter, protégé Yamini Reddy. As she took on the stage, adorned in the colour of fire, her precise mudras, fierce expressions and on-point rhythm made the piece ever more exhilarating. Endowed with a sculpted figure, a perfect sharp face and scintillating grace, she beautifully combined into herself her father's tandava and her mother's graceful lasya.
Bhavana Reddy then enlightened the stage with her graceful and joyful movements in her performance of the Krishna Kalinga Narthana. As she displayed her perfected relationship with rhythm, her expressions was what left the audience enthralled. She was excellent in the rhythmic and expressive parts of Kuchipudi dance, with remarkable intricate footwork.
The next two pieces were a Rasa performed by sisters Yamini and Bhavana, which told the tale of Krishna and the Gopika, after which, their parents, Raja and Radha performed a piece that told a tale from Kurukshetra war, on how Arjuna was advised and motivated by Lord Krishna to fight the war.
The performance ended with the whole family on stage doing a wondrous piece called the Tarangam, where the dancers are required to dance on the rims of a brass plate while staying in perfect synchrony with the rhythm of the mridangam. As the one of a kind family concluded, planting their final steps on the stage, the audience was left breathless, craving for more.
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