Accomplishments of Oriya Youths

 

Abritee Dhal, Massachusetts

Congratulations to Abritee Dhal who recently had her Arangetram on August 23, 2003 at the Littleton High School. Abriti’s performance with great grace and excellent footwork was testimony to the young dancer’s hard work and dedication.

In a very well decorated stage with many Indian Gods and Goddesses, flower girlands and torans Abriti's recital started with an invocational prayer. Her expressive eyes captured every emotion required and she enjoyed the full attention of her audience with her radiant presence.

She began her performance with Todaya Mangalam, an invocatory piece in praise of Lord Ram who is extolled by the poet as one with “Asama Sahasa” – uncomparable valor, “Kusuma Swarupa” – as handsome as the God of Love and one who gives you all that you pray for. The second item was  Jathiswaram in Ragamalika Ragam. The ten Avatars of Lord Vishnu were captured in the Dashavtar item, the composition by great poet Jayadev. This was also in Ragamalika Ragam. Varnam, the main item of the program was in Ragam Shankarabharanam. Abriti performed this dance which describes the intoxicating love for the Lord Thyagaraja.

The intermission was an exciting moment for Abriti’s parents Dr Pradeep Dhal and Sujata Dhal to socialize with their friends. After the intermission Abriti started the popular dance Madhuban Mein Radhika, a piece describing the dance of Radha in Brindavan to the music of “Giridhar”. This piece with the singer Shri Babu Parameswaran’s perfect rendering of the song, was indeed a high point of the evening.

Devi Neeye Tunai, krithi by Papanasam Sivan in Keeravani followed, where goddess Meenakshi was described in all her glory.

Then Abriti performed Tillana, a pure dance piece with intricate footwork and sculpturesque poses. The next item Narayaneeyam was in Raga Sankarabharanam. Describing the beauty of Lord Narayana, Narayaneeyam was followed by Tharangam, a dance in Kuchipudi style where Abritee danced perched on the edge of a plate. Mangalam, the Thanksgiving prayer was offered to Lord Jagannatha with Shri Babu singing Jayadev’s Oriya shloka in a flawless manner.

On the Natuvangam was Guru Ranjani Saigal, vocals were provided by Shri Babu Parameswaran, supported on the Mridangam by Shri T Viswanathan, on the Flute by Shri Suresh Mathur, on the Violin by Smt. Tara Anand and on the Veena by Dr. Raghavendra and on the Kanjira was young Rohan Krishnamurthy.

Her proud and beaming teacher, Guru Ranjani Saigal was all praise for the young dancer. According to Abriti, “Bharatnatyam has helped me understand my own heritage better and has helped me to establish a connection with the Indian culture”. Besides dance, Abritee has interest in music and has been learning flute at Indian Hill Music Center, Littleton. While Abritee intends to pursue a career in chemical engineering, she is determined to continue learning the Indian classical dance even after her Arangetram.

Sikha Mishra, Johns Hopkins University