Lyrics of the monajat Khudavind Khavind (O Lord! O Master!) were sung at the arangetram (the first solo public performance) of 17-year-old Bharatanatyam dancer Anainah Adajania (pictured) at the Tata Theatre of the National Centre for the Performing Arts on July 2, 2023. The devotional song, once sung by Parsi families at night to express their adoration of and thanks to Ahura Mazda, was rendered in Carnatic style by a "professional non-Parsi singer” to perfection, stated family member Noshir Dadrawala, former Bombay Parsi Punchayet trustee and chief executive officer of the Centre for Advancement of Philanthropy in a note to Parsiana. To perform the arangetram, a dancer has to train for several years. On this occasion, the artiste presents her art to her teacher and Lord Nataraja, an avatar of Shiva who created dance, seeking their blessings.
A self-assured Anainah told us on July 18 that she was "nervous and excited at the same time… I have performed before in groups, but this was special as it was a solo.” A disciple of guru K. Kalyanansundaram, her teacher is "greatly acclaimed for his inclusion of other cultures in the ancient art form.”
The two-hour performance comprised eight dances, an amalgamation of the three elements of the dance form — nritta (rhythmic movements and footwork to show grace and poise), nritya (communication through hand gestures and facial expressions) and natya (a combination of both).
Arangetram is a portmanteau of the Tamil words for stage and ascent whose literal translation is "ascending the stage,” Wikipedia tells us. According to tradition, the arangetram marks the completion of the initial training of the disciple to blossom into a dancer.
A disciple of the 1945-founded Sri Rajarajeswari Bharatha Natya Kala Mandir for 11 years under the tutelage of Guru Harikrishna, Mythili Kalyanasundaram and Bharathi Natanakumar, Anainah’s advanced training was under K. Kalyanasundaram, principal of the institute and a Padma Shri awardee. She has participated in group dance presentations to mark the 150th birth anniversary of Mohandas Gandhi and the birth centenary of famed classical singer Dr M. S. Subbulakshmi, Dadrawala noted.
Anainah’s mother Dilnaz is an interior designer and father Kaikhushroo, a businessman. She started learning the dance form at age five as an after-school activity at the Cathedral and John Connon School. Disciplined about not missing dance classes, there were many birthday parties and play dates that Anainah refrained from attending, stated Dadrawala. When her arangetram was postponed on account of Covid, she would dance as an activity as well as a stress buster from virtual school life. Class 10 saw the lass take a step back from dance and focus her attention on academics, securing 97% in her Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE) exams. The period after the exams was a challenging phase as "she had to put in a lot more effort due to her lack of form...
"There are thousands of variations, different rhythms to master… I plan on learning all the variations,” she said. Academically, Anainah is still to decide on what stream of studies to follow after her Class 12.