Vaggeyakara Bharatham: Roja Kannan & Baby Sreeram

Natyarangam, the dance wing of Narada Gana Sabha Trust, presented Vaggeyakara Bharatham on 9 July 2026 at the Narada Gana Sabha Main Hall. Roja Kannan presented Bharatanatyam, with G. Baby Sreeram providing vocal support ac companied by her disciples.

The evening began with Roja’s disciples performing a mallari in Gambheera Nata in khanda Triputa tala with verses Anbe Sivame composed by vidwan Ghatam Karthick. The mallari seamlessly transitioned into verses from Avvaiyar’s Vinayagar Agaval, followed by Papanasam Sivan’s Sree Vatapi Ganapatiye in Sahana, set to Adi tala. The dance was neat, well-coordinated, and the choreography was kept simple.

The second presentation was Maha Vaidyanatha Sivan’s varnam, Pankajakshi pai neeku panthamu ela ra, in Kambhoji, set to Adi tala and praising Lord Subramanya. Roja Kannan performed it as a solo.

Many aspects of her choreography and movement pedagogy were reminiscent of her guru, Adyar K. Lakshman. The trikala jati was simple and neatly presented. The sahitya choreography relied more on word-to-hand gestures, making the presentation easily decipherable, while the sancharis could have been more evocative. Given the experience of the performer, one had hoped for greater tala artistry and more nuanced abhinaya, both of which remained somewhat understated. Nevertheless, the entire presentation remained modest and clean.

The next number was a composition of Puducode Krishnamurthy, the foremost disciple of Palghat Rama Bhagavatar. The choice of composition was especially meaningful, as Roja Kannan is the granddaughter of Palghat Rama Bhagavatar. Set in Kapi raga, the Sanskrit padam, Prananadham aanaya adhunaiva portrayed a virahotkanthita nayika and was sung by Baby Sreeram, with abhinaya by Roja Kannan. The presentation was strongly rooted in manodharma, making the spontaneous interaction between music and dance an integral part of the performance. While this occasionally resulted in moments where the coordination between the artists seemed less seamless, the on-stage improvisation itself was interesting to observe. The instrumental interludes, particularly the interplay between the veena, violin and the flute, deserve special mention.

Roja Kannan then presented a javali in Mukhari raga and Adi tala, followed by a viruttam from the fifth Tirumurai in ragamalika, featuring ragas such as Shanmukhapriya, Bhairavi, Khamas, and Sindhubhairavi. It was beautifully rendered by Baby Sreeram and gracefully interpreted by Roja Kannan. The final piece was a tillana in Sindhubhairavi, a composition of Lalgudi G. Jayaraman, presented by Roja Kannan along with her disciples.

The recital was enriched by an accomplished team of accompanying musicians. Nattuvangam was by Parur Ananthashree, mridangam by Nellai V. Kannan, vocals by Raga Sudha and Smrithi Bhaskar (disciples of Baby Sreeram), violin by Priyamvada Sastri, veena by Shriya Maralapuri, and flute by Palakkad Sriram. The ensemble displayed a fine sense of cohesion and sensitivity, responding effortlessly to the varied demands of the repertoire. Their musical support remained assured throughout, enhancing the overall aesthetic appeal of the recital.