Bharatanatyam dancer K.P. Rakesh unravels the beauty of Jayadeva’s ashtapadi

K. P. Rakesh performing at The Music Academy’s 2025 dance festival in Chennai
| Photo Credit: K. Pichumani

The ashtapadis of Jayadeva are preferred compositions for dancers across styles. How they attune themselves to it determines the impact of the piece. At The Music Academy Dance Festival, K.P. Rakesh’s  delineation of ‘Kshanamadhuna’ was an aesthetic delight. 

From the delicacy and grace that marked his entry as Krishna in the bower to the melodic strains of the flute by Sujith Naik, Rakesh immersed himself  into the character.

The intense love that this ashtapadi in raga Dwajavanthi  brims with was portrayed with restraint and dignity. The gentle manner in which Krishna beseeches Radha to place her feet on his body, caressing it and her bashful response to his touch, and the transition from the portrayal of a man to woman —  Rakesh’s rendition was poetic. 

Rakesh’s nritta was marked by clarity of movement, powerful footwork and pleasant demeanour, evident in the Saptha Talaragamalika composed by Ponniah Pillai with jathis by Packiriah Pillai. 

‘Ninaindodi vanden’ is an interesting composition with ragas and swaras conceptualised for a musical rendition. Choosing this varnam, with limited scope for dance, was a deterrent, though Rakesh managed to explore a few ideas related to Shiva. He needs to move beyond the narrative mode and choose varnams that lend themselves to emotive expressions. 

The musical ensemble consisted of Girish Madhu on the nattuvangam, G. Srikanth on vocals, Sivaprasad on the mridangam, Sujith Naik on the flute and N. Ananthanarayanan on the veena.