Once upon a time, Padams and Javalis as well as Viruttams and Slokams were the
most anticipated pieces during the second half of concerts. Following my Guru
Kanjivaram Ellappa's style of singing, I was able to learn many classic pieces
composed by masters and for forty years have included them as a highlight and
not as fillers in the second half of my dance recitals. The exact tempo for a
Padam in thisra triputa tala, composed by Kshetragna, is most vital for BHAVA in
Abhinaya. My guru emphasised this aspect to great effect. The next was proper
pronunciation of the language of the padam. He always used to warn us that a
small mispronunciation would change the whole meaning of the song. And then came
the studied and subtle " Sangathis " which were permitted. Singing these nuances
were tricky, and demanding. The BHAVA inherent in the small phrases have guided
not only my movement but also my facial expressions. With a vast repertoire I
have been committed to sharing these old treasures with diverse audiences,
here and abroad. With careful planning and with new additions to the repertoire
an entire concert of Abhinaya has been my forte in recent times.
Similarly a
Javali had to be handled with the correct tempo, often faster than a Padam, but
very subtle in the rendering of Sangathis, with the correct pronunciation, in
order to bring out the meaning both in song and dance.
As for Slokas and
Viruttams, my Guru had a repertoire which was challenging to me as a dancer. A
Thayumanavar viruttam with philosophical meaning needed a choice of ragas to
enhance the core ideas. One was not free to make up a Ragamalika of random
ragas. He chose, in the style of temple bards, ragas like Harikambodhi, Atana,
Natabhairavi, Sahana and so on. When we performed Sanskrit verses from texts
like the Krishnaleela Tarangini, the core ideas were enhanced by the way it
was sung which in turn influenced the Abhinaya that brought the music to visual
dimensions.
A considerable degree of scholarship is needed to gain a
repertoire of the classic Padams, Javalis and Viruttams.The exploration of
the true depth in their meaning takes years of dancing them or singing them.
There are no short cuts to evolved and poignant Abhinaya. The underlying
aesthetic principles do not go out of fashion. A taste for that kind of music
first needs to be cultivated. The real work is in internalizing the meaning and
then sharing both melody and mood through inspired song and dance. Such artistry
would leave a lasting impression on a sensitive listener and viewer. After all,
great artists have shown the way, and it is up to the present day Vidwans and
mature dancers to study the deeper aspects more seriously. Aesthetic principles
never go out of fashion.
The most enigmatic character in Tamil history is
the Chola queen Sembiyan Mahadevi of the tenth century. I knew little about her
until, at the suggestion of the great musician Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer whom we
used to address and refer to as Semmangudi Mama, we visited the famous temple of
Konerirajapuram.
It is a small village, a beautiful Agraharam inhabited by the
Brahmin community known as "Vathima". Mama belonged to this sect and was quite
proud of his lineage. He told me to visit one of the largest Nataraja bronzes in
this temple dedicated to Shiva as Uma Maheswara. To my utter delight and
amazement the temple offered more than the big Nataraja to feast our eyes on. A
gated corridor has the finest bronzes of Shiva as Kalyanasundara,
Tripuranthaka, Bikshatana and so on. One can just stand there mesmerized by the
sheer beauty of these images.
This temple is one of many built by the queen
Sembiyan Mahadevi (925-1006). She was the wife of the Chola king Gandaraditya,
was widowed in her teens and spent a life of piety, building temples,
commissioning bronzes, donating enormously to various temples and putting the
stamp of her "style" on all the artistic and architectural features. What a
woman! She lived to the age of eighty-one and was the mother of Uttama
Chola.
Inscriptions confirm the temples she built and renovated. They are
many, with Konerirajapuram being the foremost, as also Aduturai, Kuttalam,
Mayavaram, Tirukkodikaval, Vriddachalam, Tiruvarur Achaleswarar, and others.
The temples are remarkable in architectural style for their simplicity. It is
the bronzes which are said to have come from the Sthapathis and their Pattarais
or ateliers which she patronised that bear the mark of extraordinary skill in
execution. Beyond the skill of the Sthapathi, one can see and feel beauty of a
divine nature in these sacred images.
To commemorate her life, a later Chola
king named a village Sembiyan Mahadevi after her, built a temple there and also
created an image of her to be honoured and worshipped in the temple. An image
exists today in this temple. But, it is not the original. The original Sembiyan
Mahadevi statue is now in the Freer Gallery of the Smithsonian in Washington DC.
Many experts believe that what was labelled in the gallery as Devi or Parvathi
from Sembiyan Mahadevi is actually the portrait statue of the queen.
I
took time from my busy visit to Washington in mid September 2014 for the UTSAV dance
event, and went to see the queen in the Freer Gallery. Spent a while just
looking at the image and imagining her life more than a thousand years ago. Here
are images captured in my iPhone. Do visit this queen. My friend Michael
Wood thinks she may in fact have been responsible for popularising the Nataraja
bronze image which became a cult thereafter. What an idea!
Dancing duos are pretty much welcome. One, the stage is filled with the
presence of two. Variety provides an interesting visual. And when it is a
husband and wife team, the harmony is very attractive indeed.
Nidish
and Indu, trained in Kalakshetra have arrived! They are perfect as a
pair of dancers and bring delight to the stage in their well coordinated
dance performance.
Dancing for an hour in a festival they themselves organised, this couple
were a delight to watch. Perfect technique, good understanding,
delicate movements, firm footwork and visible involvement made their
show a fine performance of well regulated Kalakshetra style. That does
not imply that they had no original moves. They did, and that is what
made the performance enjoyable.
The invocation Alarippu set the pace. Papanasam Sivan's Varnam in
Sriranjini was uncluttered in presentation. The Nrtta was precise and
elegant. The alternate moves by the two dancers worked well. Addressing
Muruga, they were both emissaries of the Nayika. In a controlled manner,
they took turns to entreat the Lord to come to his beloved. What I like
is that they did not stray from the main thrust of the lyrics and
indulge in narratives.
A Padam of Sarangapani by Nidish was rather light in treatment. But it
seemed to fit the idea of a playful Krishna....after all Krishna did
play with the Gopis. Parulanamata by Indu was subdued. The two came
together for the Thillana which was quite brilliant in movement,
footwork and attractive pauses. Nidish and Indu are certainly worth
watching. They have a sense of the beauty of movement and show their
skills in a natural spontaneous manner.
Both were in subtle white and gold costumes. Well, with our stages and
lighting, this is not the best option. A touch of colour could have been
added even after the Varnam to provide a change. I know that Indu's
mother makes up her costumes. Well, she would agree with me!
They had a good orchestra with Balakrishnan singing with depth and also
handling the Nattuvangam. He is an asset to a dance performance indeed.
Vijayaraghavan did a skillful accompaniment on the mridangam with Rijesh
Gopalakirishnan providing good support on the violin.
