Reviews
January Chronicles

January Chronicles
By Bhavani Ravindran
The latter part of the season (in January 2024) witnessed several
individual dance performances. A few of them I attended deserve mention both
for their variety and for the age range of the artists, from highly seasoned
performers to relatively fresh faces in the dance firmament of Chennai.
Shobana Balachandra
Shobana, one of
the senior most disciple of the Dhanajayans, also serves as the Artistic
Director of Bharata Kalanjali, an institution founded and nurtured by her
gurus.
Her performance took place on 5 January 2024 under the
auspices of Brahma Gana Sabha at the TAG Auditorium. Her first item was a
Muthuswami Dikshitar kriti popularised by G.N. Balasubramaniam, Swaminatha
paripalaya in Nata raga. This is an unusual item which does not generally
form a part of the dance repertoire. Shobana efficiently handled this abstract
theme. This was followed by a varnam of the Tanjore Quartet in navaragamalika.
Her footwork, expressions, and energy on stage were impressive as she
seamlessly combined all these aspects in her performance.
Shobana presented A Soul’s Journey, a new addition to her
repertoire. Penned by Prof. Raghuraman, Shobana traced the journey of a
departed soul from the time of the funeral till the final arrival at an
indeterminate place. The choreography was apt in that it affected the viewer,
which led to introspection and unearthed memories of loved ones who have made
this journey. Shobana concluded with a mangalam, a departure from the usual
tillana, in keeping with the sombre mood of the last piece. Music was led by
the mellifluous voice of Radha Badri and the orchestra.
Suryanarayan Murthy
Murthy is another senior dance performer who has been active in the
circuit for many years—a Kalakshetra alumni who later worked with the
Dhananjayans’ Bharatha Kalanjali. He performed at the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
this year on 8 January 2024 under the Bhavan’s dance festival series.
He started with a tisra alarippu followed by the main piece, the varnam,
composed by Raji Narayanan of Mumbai. The dance, choreographed by the
Dhanajayans, is one of their highly acclaimed presentations. Murthy danced with
energy, and his experience was evident in both the footwork and expressions. He
performed the piece efficiently. He concluded with a Jayadeva’s Gita
Govindam’s first ashtapadi, Pralayapa yothichale in ragamalika.
Music was recorded and of good quality. Vocal by Srikant was good, with
competent orchestral support.
Swati M. Kumar
Swati is an upcoming dancer with a lot of promise. A disciple of Radhika
Shurajit, Swati is also a singer and a teacher of Bharathanatyam and Carnatic
music. Her performance was for Karthik Fine Arts conducted at the Narada Gana
Sabha mini hall on 24 January 2024.
She started with a mallari, an invocative number. This was followed by
Shanmuga shabdam, choreographed by the
Dhananjayans. Her central item was the varnam, in raga Athana, a composition of
Turaiyur Rajagopala Sarma. Her performance of this varnam was good, with clean
footwork and expressions in the abhinaya portions. Her dancing was
confident and energetic. A Surdas bhajan was next, depicting the pranks of baby
Krishna, again well done by Swati. The conclusion was with a tillana in
Kuntalavarali. Instead of the standard mangalam, Swati danced to verses from
the Hanuman Chalisa in celebration of the consecration of the Ram Temple
at Ayodhya.
K3 – Kandha Kadambha Kadhirvela
K3 was a Unique natya production celebrating Muruga with Kanda
Sashti Kavacham by Radhika Shurajit.
Rooted in Tamil sensibilities this production's theme has universal
relevance. Kanda Sashti Kavacham is a 19th century
hymn composed by Devaraya Swamigal and is one the most popular and oft-chanted
hymn to propitiate Lord Muruga. Though Muruga is universal, going by different
names depending on the region, He has been adopted by the Tamils as their own;
hence, this hymn is very special to them.
A hymn by nature is usually chanted, not sung; hence, translating it
into a dance feature is a bold and unique concept excellently executed by
Radhika. The production celebrates the Lord of the Hills, Muruga, the epitome
of beauty, which is what his name means (azhagu). The feature is an offering of
prayers to the beautiful Tamil Lord.
The word sashti, which means six, denotes the sixth day of 'Suklapaksha'
in the Tamil month of Kartigai. On this day, it is believed that the Lord
defeated the demon Soorapadman, after a battle lasting six days. After
vanquishing Soorapadman, one half of his body was transformed into a peacock,
which became the Lord's vahana (vehicle) and the other half into a rooster
which adorned His flag.
This unique project was inspired by the COVID-19 pandemic's impact on
lives and livelihoods. Radhika's deep introspection led to a dance narrative
focused on a hymn promoting global health and peace. The 'kavacham,' meaning
armour, is believed to have medicinal qualities addressing mental, physical,
and psychological ailments and bringing wealth, happiness, prosperity, and
peace—qualities crucial during those challenging years.
The production, with the kavacham being the central piece, also had some
rare compositions on Lord Muruga, choreographed beautifully. The first piece
dealt with the creation of the Lord by His mother, Parvati, and it depicts the
six Karthigai girls who are said to have helped raise the six infants before
they were amalgamated to the one Lord, a Tiruppugazh, who followed this. The
next piece depicted the six abodes of Lord Muruga, their various locations and
speciality. This seamlessly eased into the episode of the slaying of the demon
Soorapadman. The lyrics for the fight sequence was written and performed by
Sivadas Rajan. Then followed the main piece, Kanda Sashti Kavacham;
the hymn was popularised by the Soolamangalam Sisters, who are credited with
the way it is being sung presently. Without deviating from this version, Radha
Badri beautifully sang the hymn, and it was handled with passion and sincerity
by the dancers, who may not have fully grasped the deep meaning of the hymn but
still could convey their involvement. The performance culminated in a tillana.
From the sequence of items, it can be seen that Radhika has created a narrative
with each piece telling the story of Lord Muruga, from birth, the establishment
of the six abodes, the slaying of the demon, and the kavacham. The show
concluded with another Tirupugazh and a procession where the
dancers carried items most favoured by Lord Muruga around the auditorium to
give a festive feel.
Radhika used 20 dancers from her school, Thrayee, who performed
brilliantly. Their costumes were wonderful, the lighting effects were
appropriate, and the orchestra led by Radha Badri was brilliant. Off-stage
narration by Arrur Sundaramurthy, with his deep voice and excellent diction,
added to the overall effect.
The production premiered at the Narada Gana Sabha on 18 November 2023,
aptly the Kanda Sashti day. After this, there were a few more stagings during
and after the music season.
(The author
is a connoisseur of music and dance)