I told you this was going to be a very long post in a nutshell but I really want to write this before too much time has passed and I can’t remember all the small details. So where were we?

Our third item, Siva Stuthi, was also an original choreography of Padmabhushan Guru Dr. Vempati Chinna Satyam Garu, and also happened to be an item we were learning in class at the time AND one of Srivi’s favorite items. My favorite part of this item both while practicing and performing it was how in-synch we all were. While some effort was definitely put in in order to reach this accomplishment, we’re kind of lucky in that music and subtle musical cues click with all three of us in the same way. It all just registers the same way with us so most of the time we synchorize on our own without trying because having your dance go off beat from the internal metronome you have is a big no.

The tarangam, Govardhana Giridhara, an original choreography of Padmabhushan Guru Dr. Vempati Chinna Satyam Garu, was the focal point of this Kuchipudi Rangapravesam. The item first depicts different stories about the life of young Krishna, and concludes with the dancer praising Lord Krishna followed by dancing on a brass plate. I was extremely nervous for this item because it involved two things I was not very confidant in; expressions and plate dancing. The first scene involved Mother Yashoda milking a cow and young Krishna stealing and drinking all the milk without her noticing. This was such a fun scene to do for me because I got to play Mother Yashoda and Srivi played young Krishna. For anyone that knows my sister and I, this is one of the many different kinds of relationships I share with Srivi so it was fun to get to channel those feelings in this role. The biggest joke we got out of this was when the dancers show Mother Yashoda trying to catch little Krishna as he plays with her. I thought I was looking at Krishna (Srivi) affectionately but Sandhya Aunty stopped me halfway through and said that I should look at him like a mother would, and not like a stranger trying to abduct the neighborhood children. Whoooooppppssss. But after that I was able to try and wrap my head more around how Yashoda would react to all of this instead of me and I guess it worked because from what people told me, it was very convincing and one of their favorite parts. The second story depicted was when Krishna lifts the Govardhana mountain. I played, Lord Indra, Sriya was Nanda, and Srivi was Krishna. Seeing Sriya and Srivi dance and interact was way cool. Also, this scene is where finger dancing was born ;)

One of my all time favorite parts about this item was the plate dance. While I was scared senseless of it in all aspects, it was interesting to see the dynamic between the three of us change. When it comes to dance, Srivi is definitely the most natural of the three. She doesn’t have to try too hard to get the correct expression that is required for an item. Sriya is a little more quiet. She observes everything down to the minute detail,studies it hard and analyzes it for a long time before executing it. As for me? I sort of have a photographic memory when it comes to dance. I have to see something once, maybe twice and I usually can replicate correctly. It just goes hand in hand with being born with music in your blood I guess. I’m blessed that I can do that. Anyway, usually I pick up things super fast but for plate, Sriya picked it up the fastest, followed by Srivi, and lastly me. We worked hard and somehow managed to be decent at it. If you don’t know how the general plate dance format works, the guru usually says the jathis (complex patterns of steps), followed by the dancers replicated what was said in the jathi along with mridangam. When we first started learning this portion of the item, because there were three of us, Sriya danced in the middle as Krishna and danced along with Sandhya Aunty saying the jathis, while Srivi and I follwed with just the mridangam. In order to remember the patterns, Sandhya Aunty said we could recite the jathis as we danced on the plate, and over time it became second nature. Srivi and I love the math and complexities that come with jathis so being able to say them was a treat for us. On the day of our orchestra rehearsal prior to the program, our lead vocalist Minu Aunty heard us say the jathis during the plate dance. As we were drinking water after finishing the item, she told us she was super impressed with how we were saying the jathis and asked if we were going to do it on the day of the program. I replied that we would probably end up saying them to ourselves so we wouldnt get off beat during the program when she suggested we get lapel mics to hook onto our dresses as we got our plates. She said that she could tell we worked hard to learn the jathis and that it should be showcased. Funny story, the first time we practiced with the mics was during the performance. As we exited to get our plates, Purnima hooked a mic to me and Vidya hooked a mic to Srivi and we were off. It’s hilarious watching the video because the whole entrance to the plate part that we ended up actually doing was not rehearsed like that at all. But hey, it worked right? My absolute favorite part was after Sriya finished her first jathi and Srivi and I started saying the jathi, you can hear people “ooooh” in the audience. I didn’t think it was a big deal at the time but looking back it was definitely something different and unique. That evening after coming home, Amma and I were talking to my cousin Sreenu who is big into music. He was complimenting the program as a whole and mentioned how cool it was that we said the jathis while we performed. My mom responded with something that really stuck to me. “That’s the great thing about Sandhya. She encourages the girls to not only learn the dance, but to learn all aspects of the dance. They might not have been as strong on plate as some other dancers, but Sandhya still made their plate part stand out by giving them the chance to say the jathis.”