 |
       |
|
|
 Rainbow hues from Thalam-Soorya Fest - Padma Jayaraj e-mail: padmajayaraj@gmail.com Photos: Prasad Kumar November 25, 2019 Navarathri pooja ushers in a week of dance festival every year, under the aegis of Thalam Cultural Trust, Thrissur, Kerala. The Thalam-Soorya Fest began on November 1, 2019 in the Harisri Vidyanidhi School auditorium.  Sunanda Nair A Mohiniattam performance by Sunanda Nair inaugurated the weeklong session. Born and brought up in Mumbai, Sunanda chose Mohiniattam although she was trained in Bharatanatyam and Kathakali. A disciple of noted Mohiniattam exponent Dr. Kanak Rele, Sunanda's Gandhari (choreographed by her Guru) was a superb piece with nuances that show feminist perspective. Penned and set to music by Malayalam poet Kaavalam Narayana Panikker, the story of the girl from Gandhar moves on in raag Kanada and adi taal. Gandhari, the Queen Mother, evolves from a carefree princess through a collage of highlights that strings her life in epic proportions. The first shock that shatters her innocent life is the news that her Sakhi brings, that her husband to be is the blind King of Hasthinapur. The choreography follows the Brahminical ideals. Imbued in the values of ancient Bharath, she embraces the role of a pathivratha, closing her eyes, an act symbolic in dimension. Situation forces her to accept her fate to be the Queen Mother of a line of kings. Life with a single purpose sustains her. Her two year term of pregnancy comes to a harrowing end shattered by the news of the birth of Yudhishtira, the eldest of the Pandavas. Her anxiety bordering on an existential crisis leads to the birth of a mass of flesh. Yet the reward comes when she becomes the mother of a hundred children as prophesied. Even when boundless joy comes with a train of children she remains steadfast in her vow, and the blind mother refuses to look at her children as they grew up around her. The crisis comes on the eve of the Mahabharata war when her eldest Duryodhana comes to seek her blessing on his way to encounter Bhima. The crucial Gadha yudha is to follow. Radiating heartrending dignity, she declares "Wherever there is dharma, there dwells success." The physical blindness has opened her inner eye. And so, she knows the outcome. The inevitable happens... The next highlight is how the Queen Mother leads the widowed women folk of her sons and relatives to the theatre of war. And for her, not even the last glimpse of the mortal remains of her sons! Finally when the war is lost and won, not based on dharma as she declared, she climbs down from the palace where she lived her life according to the tenets and values of the times. Now her blind husband holding on to her shoulders, she leads the way her eyes wide open...The message is loud and clear, a catastrophic reality in the context of male-oriented social norms that continues as a tragic dementia to date.  Shijith Nambiar Bharatanatyam exponents Shijith Nambiar and Parvathy Menon were expected with much anticipation since their performance a year back in Thrissur. But Parvathy could not come because of unavoidable reasons. I thought I would miss the charmer. Surprising the audience, Shijith rose to great heights in a solo performance that highlighted flawless endowments of a male dancer. The varnam, the theme of Nataraja, a marvellous item couched in nritta, nritya, and natya reflecting in the facial expressions of the devotee, amazed the viewers. A bhakta yearning for the blessed sight of Shiva is rewarded with the darshan. And what a vision it is! Lo, behold Nataraja, the king of dance, in rhythmic poise. The unbelievable mood of the bhakta melts into a rhythmic symphony of nritta that commune with a live orchestra transporting the audience to a realm of celestial harmony. The dancing feet, jingling and drumming hands sending a booming challenge play with each other. Nataraja dances drumming on the primordial udukku, then with maddalam as if each instrument is a manifestation of divine rhythm. For me, somewhere from a distant time zone in memory the twilight aarati in Chidambaram echo. The devotee crouched like a blind beggar is blessed by the towering Nataraja poised in rhythmic whirl. He wakes up surprised to see a tiny bell in his cupped palms, a bell from the ankle belt of the cosmic dancer, a divine gift that would jingle all the way for him and for the audience. Composed by Papanasam Sivan, the dance in ragam Nattakurinchi and adi talam mesmerised the viewers. If the Nataraja item is the epitome of the male, the next piece, the essence of feminine in "Sagara sayana vibho..." (composed by M.D. Ramanathan in ragam Bhagesri, adi talam), painted the story of a river couched in lyrical grace, as the other side of the coin. The inhabitants of Kerala, a land of rivers, we are like streams in the valley of the Western Ghats moving on to the sea. The geography is mirrored in our mental plane. In tickling girlish charm the river winds her way, singing in the rains, rippling, frothing, gurgling in serpentine motion; at times playing with the banks, holding on to plants, hugging flowers...she moves on as if born to move on, like life itself. And then, the distant horizon casts a spell: a sea in the distance, a home for the wandering, meandering nymph. The inner urge to reach home after endless travail gains a philosophical dimension in the dance. The river reaches the sea where high tide and low tide rock her to and fro. As in the famous backwaters of Kerala, she is stuck amidst rippling wavelets. In the distance is Lord Padmanabha reclining on his serpentine bed in the Milky Ocean. Finally the weary stream is lost in the endless ocean and the Lord wakes up to put her to sleep. After such a weary travail sleep is rest, eternal rest. A hypnotised audience started clapping in appreciation, but the Lord beckoned, "Shh! Silence, she is sleeping."After an unbelievable spell, the stunned audience erupted into thunderous clapping.  Girish Chandra and Devi Girish Girish Chandra and Devi Girish have created their own niche in the field of Kuchipudi presenting its intricacies in vibrant mode. The two pieces that stood out were the invocatory piece Surya Stuthi and Shiva-Sankareeyam, an alluring love piece set amidst pristine Himalayan terrain of Kalidasa fame, based on stories from Shiva Purana. The performance began with Surya appearing in his chariot, Aruna as the charioteer reminding of the glorious carvings of Konark temple. Lighting enhanced the colours of dawn as night melted away. Surya with his ever present Chaya exemplified a beautiful metaphor with multiple associations. The song, cast in ragam Saurashtra and rupaka talam, illustrated the meaning of Gayatri mantra. The dance unfolded as the prayer from the Rig Veda, echoing from the beginning of time in the cultural memory of the subcontinent. Shiva-Sankareeyam, a lyrical piece that the young couple portrayed, epitomises the charms of love that is ever present, never fading from human hearts. We see Sati dressing up for the event in her life, her swayamvara. The ritual over, the couple moves to Kailash. The pristine beauty of Nature, the snow-clad Himalayas comes alive as an echo system throbbing with life: of beings, their sights, sounds, and smell. And, Shiva and Sati merge as the living soul and spirit of the realm. As if nothing lasts forever, even for gods, Sati yearns for her childhood home as the news of Dakshayaga reaches her. The nostalgia overcomes her to take her back to her father despite Shiva's protests. Then follows a complex situation in human parameter - a mix of anger, humiliation, revenge, hopelessness. As Agni refuses to swallow Sati, she is burned to death from the fire of her own inner anguish. Shiva immersed in meditation wakes up. From his agonised fury, Veerabhadra rises to kill Daksha. The composition of DSV Sastry in Ragamalika and Talamalika is an alluring presentation choreographed by the young couple Girish and Devi.  Shubhada Varadkar Shubhada Varadkar, performer, choreographer, guru and writer, has risen to greater heights, because of her passion for Odissi. After a documentary on her life that revealed the gloom she endured, the heroic struggle that brought her to rising glory, she performed on the stage as if grace danced. The audience who witnessed the lasya of Mohiniattam, the classical perfection of Bharatanatyam, and the energetic adavus of Kuchipudi, saw how graceful is Odissi. The Mangalacharan showcased the divine grace of a temple dance that has been part of the ritual tradition of Puri Jagannath temple. The Ardhanareeswara Stotra of Adi Shankara (set to music by Vijay Tambe) presented the masculine and the feminine aspects of Shiva-Shakti in equal balance as heavenly harmony embedded in nature, as if contradictions create harmony. Ragamala to the beat of triputa taal embellished the dance piece. After a graceful Pallavi (raga Janasanmohini, eka taal), Shubhada moved on to present Jatayu Moksha with the panchavati episode from the Ramayana as its prelude. The dancer sculpted the rhythm of a forest scene, throbbing in shades and sounds as the perfect backdrop for the human drama: the scheming of Maricha, Sita yielding to the charming frolicking deer, Rama chasing it, so far away that it makes Sita anxious. Then the argument leading to Lakshman-rekha, the coming of Ravana, the abduction of Sita that culminates in Jatayu moksha unfolded in graceful ease in a symphony of dance and drama entrancing the audience. The week of Soorya - Thalam Fest concluded in a kaleidoscopic view of India's great heritage in the cultural capital of Kerala. Padma Jayaraj is a freelance writer on the arts and a regular contributor to www.narthaki.com. |
