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 Dance festival 2024 of Sri Shanmukhananda Fine Arts and Sangeetha Sabha: Part 2 - Chandra Anand e-mail: chandra6267@yahoo.co.in December 8, 2024 A four-day dance festival in which prominent dance schools of Mumbai got to present their dance productions was held at the Sri Shanmukhananda Chandrashekarendra Saraswathi Auditorium, Mumbai from 8th -11th November 2024. VASANTAVALLI The 10th November presentation was by Sri Rajarajeswari Bharathanatya Kalamandir, established in 1945 in Mumbai. As the school was commemorating the centenary year of Guru G. Karunambal, the founder director of the school, they presented their famous dance-drama 'Vasantavalli' for she was very much involved in the first presentation in almost all departments of the dance production. The Gurus of Sri Rajarajeswari belong to an illustrious lineage of traditional dance teachers that traces its roots back to the ancient masters of Bharatanatyam from Thanjavur, spanning more than three centuries. In present times, Guru K Kalyanasundaram with his son and nephews continues the family traditions through this institution.  L-R: Pavitra, Ashwathi, Sruthi and Radhika Photo: Adesh Pednekar The dance-drama 'Vasantavalli' premiered in 1972 was presented in an adapted version of the earliest Kuravanji production composed by Thirikuta Rasappa Kavirayer towards the end of the 17th century. It was a plot built around Princess Vasantavalli and Thirukkuttralanadar and hence is known as 'Thirukkuttralanadar Kuravanji'. Kuravanji is the earliest form of dance-drama in Tamil Nadu. The theme of Kuravanji is simple. A lithe flash of gaiety, colour and hope - that is the Kurati (gypsy), the central figure of Kuravanji production. The Kurati from her abode in the hills comes down to the city. She is taken to the princess of the kingdom who is suffering from pangs of love for the Lord of her dreams, usually the reigning deity of her country. The Kurati blessed with the third eye of foresight, foretells her fortune - the Princess will be happily united with her Lord. The presentation started with a temple scene wherein in the early quiet hours of dusk the pooja for the Lord begins. The serene ambience during the morning pooja was well captured and all got transported to the 17th century temple scenario. Devadasis take part in the rituals of the worship along with the high priest. They perform a thevaram in praise of the God. Vasantavalli is totally in awe at the sight of the god and she performs the kavuthvam in praise of the god averring her endless devotion to him. Thereafter an elaborate aarthi to the idol of lingam is witnessed by all.  L-R: Radhika, Pavitra, Sruthi, Radhika V and Savita Photo: Adesh Pednekar Subjects of the land were introduced with the village folk dancing the Kummi, a popular folk dance known for its gripping complex rhythmic variations. The song eulogises about the greatness of the place for the wealth and splendour of the land and their ardent devotion and faith towards Kuttralanadar, who is presiding deity of Tirukkuttralam. Costumes showed the simplicity of the people living in the place. The slow and fast paces of music and dance gratified onlookers and transported all to Thirukkuttralam. A garden scene was created where the friends come together and decide to play ball. They made a ball from the string of flowers and in the process lots of fun and comradeship among them was expressed. The music was very peppy. Suddenly the ball is lost and in searching for it they peeped out of the compound and saw that the festive procession of the Lord was on its way through. The beauty of the procession was depicted through dance by Sakhis in a picturesque manner. Here one sensed the deep devotion of Vasantavalli in her ardent prayer to the Lord as the procession goes through and her losing herself into the virahataapam for the Lord. Soon a dream sequence was enacted where Vasantavalli is given a vision of Kuttralanadar himself promising her that the day of her union with him would arrive soon. The moonlight and starry sky of light work projected the mystical quality of the scene. Another folklore ensued. This time it was rhythms of the positive outlook and joyous abandonment of Kuratis who live amidst forests, hill and waterfalls. Soon one of the clan leaves for Tirukkuttralam. A comedy scene where Sakhis get their fortune told regaled the audience and they invite her to the palace to tell the fortune of the Princess. When the Kurati meets Vasantavalli, she initiates the Princess into a ritual which mainly consists of a prayer to god with a pleading for the glimpse of the future. The Kurati at first teases Vasantavalli and at last speaks of the love between the Princess and the Lord and foresees an immediate union. Overjoyed at this, Vasantavalli richly rewards the Kurati and with her Sakhis burst forth into an ecstatic rhythmic dance of thillana. Small emphatic songs relating to life of Kuratis were interspersed all through these scenes voicing their life, attitude, knowledge and talent to predict the future accurately. As per the prediction, the Sakhis get preparations done for the marriage. Air of expectancy and a hush prevails as the mortal Vasantavalli comes to wed the divinity. As the wait for the Lord extends its duration, the village folk start critiquing and chuckling at Vasantavalli. Falling into despair, Vasantavalli is ready to give up her life when the doors of the sanctum tear apart and from the lingam appears Lord Thirukkuttralanadar. Behind the simple theme of the Kuravanji lies the optimistic pattern of Indian philosophical thought. The soul or 'atman' thirsting for salvation will, one day in future, be united with the ultimate reality, the 'Brahman'. After being united by the garland of flowers, heavens burst forth into a joyous offering of flowers; the Lord blesses his devotees; and the dance-drama ended with all singing and dancing the praise of the Lord and his consort and chanting of Om Namah Shivaya. Woven through fibers of melody and rhythm, Kuravanji was a popular dance-drama for the masses combining elements of folk dances as well as the pure classical aspects of Bharatanatyam. Thus, one sees Bharatanatyam at the higher echelons of life like in the palace and temple scenes and folk dancing at the village sequences. Throughout the production, one could see the Tanjavur style of Bharatanatyam known for its angashuddam, shoushtavam and musicality. The artistes were well trained and were very synchronized and coordinated in their movements and actions. The lead roles were by Bharathi Murthy as Kurathi, Sruthi Natanakumar as Vasantavalli and Ashwathi Venugopal as Kuttralanadar (Shiva). The role of Sakhis were played by Savita Senthil, Sangeetha Senthil, Pavitra Iyer, Radhika Srinivasan, Aishwarya Natrajan and Radhika Venkatramanan. The temple dancers were Vidisha Rao and Srinilaya Krishnan. And finally, girls who regaled us with folk numbers were Mallika, Reethika, Haritha, Rachel, Shivani, Mercia, Anagha, Shanta, Shreya, Sanjana and Prarthana. Credits for the concept, music compositions and choreography are by Guru Thanjavur P. Kuppiah Pillai, Guru T.K. Mahalingam Pillai, Guru A.T. Govindraj Pillai, and Guru K. Kalyanasundaram. On the music ensemble, for vocal and nattuvangam were Guru Kalyanasundaram and Guru G Vasant Kumar, on vocals were Shanti Sekhar, Mangalam Murthy and Sheetal Subramanian, on mridangam was Venkatesh, on violin was Balasubramaniam Sharma, on flute was Hema Balasubramaniam. Costumes selection was by Guru Mythili Kalyanasundaram, compere work was done by Sivakami Sivakumar, the stage management by M Vishwanath and lights arrangement by Harikrishna Kalyanasundaram. BHARAT KI BHAKTI YATRA  Photo courtesy: Shanmukhananda Sangeetha Sabha On 11th November 2024, 'Bharat ki Bhakti Yatra' was presented by Bharatanatya Kalalaya, Mumbai, a dance school run by Guru Geetha Venkateswar. She is a student and daughter-in-law of Guru Rajalakshmi Venkateswar of Calcutta. This concept took one across India, where some of India's most sacred and revered pilgrimage sites was explored through the mythological stories, local traditions and languages, with an enchanting mix of the traditional and the regional folk flavours. The temples covered were Siddhivinayaka in Mumbai, Pandharpur's Vitthal Rukmini Mandir and Shirdi Sai Baba Sansthan in Maharashtra; Lord Guruvayoorappan temple in Kerala; the Pancha Bhoota Shiva Lingam sthalas in Tamil Nadu, Tirupati Balaji temple in Andhra Pradesh, Dakshineswar Kali temple in West Bengal, Krishna temple in Vrindavan, Lord Ram temple in Ayodhya and ended the yatra in Varanasi on the banks of the River Ganga and Lord Kashi Vishwanatha Temple. Each kshetra was brought out colourfully with use of montages, map animations, dance and music and with appropriate costumes. At every place, through lens of Bharatanatyam they showcased the salient features of the God, the kshetra and added a story of the God or Goddess or the story of his or her devotee to show the grace of God. Many songs popularised by MS Subbulakshmi was engaged in the script to help the audience connect to the theme. On one hand, the bhakti and frenzy towards Godhead were shown by dramatizing mortal devotees like Kannappan and Meerabai, on the other hand the mythological stories like that of Prahlada and Draupadi were dramatized to bring forth the grace of God. And many more such stories that transcended time and place, connecting all to the eternal energy of devotion, the joy of celebration and the resilience of the human spirit, were focused on.  Photo: Ravi Venkateswar The compere of the show gave appropriate salutations to each deity of a place before proceeding to express the information of the item to be presented. She also wore appropriate dupattas and head gear that is worn by devotees at the kshetra sthal visited. The vocal was rendered by Padmini Radhakrishnan, with excellent instrumental support by Mumbai Shankarnarayan on the mridangam, B Anantharaman on the violin, and Guru Geetha Venkateswar on the nattuvangam. The program was a tad longer than expected, but the huge production of 40 dancers was well applauded.  Chandra Anand is a Bharatanatyam artiste and teacher. She has an MA in Bharatanatyam from Tilak Maharashtra Vidyapeeth, and her series on 'Education in spiritual values through Bharatanatyam' is featured in narthaki.com. |
