Bharata Natyam Arangetram of Sumaedha Konduri

On August 5th, 2023 we presented Sumaedha Konduri, daughter of Srikanth and Srivalli Konduri and a long-time member of Vidyanjali's Burlington dance crew, in her Bharata Natya Arangetram at the Chinmaya Maruti Temple in Andover. Sumaedha participated in master classes with Guru Sudha Sekhar and was able to directly learn several of her items from Aunty, which was a great privilege. I also want to mention that Sumaedha had the opportunity to work with my eldest sister Diya Fourohfour, who sang a ukelele version of Sumaedha's Jathiswaram while she was practicing!

photo by Naga Gandham Photography

Sumaedha's performance began with a beautiful rendition of Saint Thyagaraja's 'Abhistha Varadha Sri Mahaganaptim' sung by Krithika in Hamsadhwani. Sumaedha began her performance with Todaya Mangalam, a series of verses in praise of Sri Rama, Venkateshwara and Krishna. She skillfully depicted emotional sequences such as Narasimha's attack on Hiranyakashipu and the Gajendra Moksham. This was followed by the Alarippu in Kandam and then Kalyani Jathiswaram. The Sabdam in Ragamalika was 'Sarasijhakshulu' in the language Telugu, where Sumaedha showed Krishna stealing the clothes of the gopis at the riverbank, stealing butter, playing raas-lila and finally in his beautiful sleeping form of Padmanabha. The first half came to a powerful finish with the Daanike Varnam, taught to Guru Sudha Aunty by Guru Mahalingam Pillai of Sri Rajarajeshwari Bharata Natya Kalamandir and passed on to Sumaedha in its pristine state.

The second half commenced with 'Akhilandeshwari Chamundeshwari' (Ragamalika) in praise of the many forms of the Goddess, followed by 'Madhura Nagarilo' (Ananda Bhairavi) about Krishna's playful teasing nature. The Nataraja padam 'Ananda Nadamidum Rajane' in ragam Shanmukhapriya was powerfully executed next, and Sumaedha showcased her acrobatic ability in the Naga Nrityam (Punnagavarali). The maestro Balamuralikrishna's Kadanakuthuhalam Thillana was an grand finale to the recital, and a sweet and lilting 'Ksheerabdi Kanyakaku' (Kurinji) closed out the program with an auspicious note, and then transitioned into the 'Pavamana' Mangalam as is the Hindu Temple Rhythms' tradition.

photo by Naga Gandham photography

Some of my favorite highlights from her Arangetram repertoire were the Kalyani Jathiswaram (which Sudha Aunty, our singer extraordinaire Krithika Rajkumar and her sister and our super talented violinist Akshaya Rajkumar all did for their Arangetrams as well!), Daanike Varnam in Thodi where Sumaedha had to depict the lovelorn maiden and the majestic king Sivaji of Thanjavur, the beautiful Nataraja padam Ananda Nadamidum Rajane written by Gopal Ven in which she nailed many difficult poses, and of course Sumaedha's skillful interpretation of the snake dance 'Nadar Mudimel' in which she wowed the crowd with her flexibility.

Credit must be given to Smt. Ranjani Saigal as Sumaedha’s first Guru. She gave her the strong foundations and developed her work ethic which allowed her to successfully complete her Arangetram. Thank you Ranjani Akka for all your love and guidance.

We were lucky to have my incredible mother Sudha Aunty (as everyone calls her) here to guide us - particularly for our orchestra team made up of the talented father-son duo Indiresha Maktal and Aatreya Maktal on mridangam, the sister team of Krithika Rajkumar and Akshaya Rajkumar and our young flute master Sachit Kurup -- all of whom were ably supported by Sachit's dad and our sound engineer Manish Kurup. Not only was it a family affair in the orchestra, but with more than half of the orchestra raised in the U.S. including myself, it was a theme of legacy and passing on tradition.

photo by Naga Gandham photography

We are so proud of Sumaedha for her dedication and performance, and although she is now settled into college at Tulane University in New Orleans, I am thrilled that she has decided to continue her training and is still taking classes with me online whenever her schedule allows.

Credits:

Hair & Makeup: Santhi Narayanan and Geetha Raju

Photography: Naga Gandham Photography

Lighting: Mark Buchanan

Sound Engineer: Manish Kurup

Videography: Hari Gurram

Orchestra:

Lead Nattuvangam & Vocals: Guru Sudha Chandra Sekhar

Nattuvangam & Vocal Support: Anandini Chandra Sekhar

Vocals: Krithika Rajkumar

Mridangam: Indiresh & Aatreya Maktal

Violin: Akshaya Rajkumar

Flute: Sachit Kurup