Gopala Choodamani, a Dance Ballet by Bharatha Natyalaya

"Of the ten incarnations of Vishnu, Krishna is the one that portrays the Lord 
as a manifestation of all the creative and existential aspects of a child, an 
adolescent and an adult. It is a study in inter-personal relations," explains 
dancer-choreographer Chitra Narayanan, whose production titled "Gopala Choodamani" 
explored the various stages of the Krishna avatar, and His symbolic life portraying 
a universal manhood.




Performed by over 15 young dancers of Bharatanatyalaya, the play had all the color and vibrancy in presentation that you would have expected. From the depiction of the child Krishna with Yashoda symbolizing a maternal bond and the young vivacious cowherd Krishna depicting the tender man-animal relationship, to the youthful Krishna flocked around by the gopikas and his eternally revered speech 'Geetopadesam' to Arjuna in the battlefield, the play extended in a colourful choreography.



All these and more relations of Krishna were illustrated as the aspects of love, affection and devotion - "transcending humanity and encompassing the whole universe".
The choreographer and her dancers, with faith and belief in the 'Krishna concept', performed with revered gestures. "When we realize that it is the same Being who manifested Himself as Matsya, Koorma, Varaha, Narasimha, Vamana, Parasurama, Rama, Buddha and the expected Kalki, all with a view to quell Adharma for saving Dharma, the concept becomes at once universal," adds Chitra, who provided the nattuvangam support from the wings.



Young dancers like Mala, Manasi, Radha, Shravanthi, Snigdha and Tanuja, among a host of other dancers, dramatized each scene in perfect frames