Understanding the bard through dance

B. Bhanumathi and her students will perform Tyagabrahma Loka Charitam, a presentation of Tyagaraja’s life and music through Bharatanatyam

Bhanumathi

Writing about Tyagaraja in his column 'Tyagaraja 250' in The Hindu ('What do we know of Tyagaraja', June 2, 2016), Sriram.V. says that it is hard to claim with confidence that we actually know this saint poet well. In the absence of hard facts about his birth, the origin of the songs he wrote and even his personal life, Sriram likens Tyagaraja to Shakespeare.

How then can Tyagaraja be understood? Veteran Bharatanatyam dancer and teacher B. Bhanumathi toyed with this question too--mainly because she was faced with the complex task of not just comprehending the genius of Tyagaraja but depicting his life and music through dance. "When Ranjani Fine Arts approached me with a request to depict Tyagaraja through dance, I was thrilled, but the idea was daunting. First we thought of portraying Nauka Charitram but we realised that it has been done several times. Even as early as 1965, the legendary Kamala Lakshman had performed it. Then, we thought of compiling Tyagaraja's compositions about Sita but we couldn't find enough songs to create a 75-minute production,” says Bhanumathi.

“Depicting Tyagaraja is a challenge,” she continues. “There are many versions about the incidents in his life. It is also impossible to know and express his state of mind. But what pushed me to take up the project was my own approach to dance. Art, for me is a spiritual journey. And Tyagaraja to me is a symbol of the spiritual pinnacle,” she explains.

So, with some help from her sister and her co-choreographer Sheela, Bhanumathi went through books on the saint poet, particularly those authored by Dr. Raghavan and Rangaramanuja Iyengar. She also referred to Kathakalakshepa of

Tyagaraja Charitam by Vishakha Hari and Chittoor V. Nagaiah’s film Tyagayya (1946). “After substantial research, we decided to focus on incidents and situations that inspired some of Tyagaraja’s compositions. For instance, the popular story behind Nidhi Chala Sukhama goes like this: When Raja Serfoji, after hearing of Tyagaraja’s prowess, sent fruits, jewels and many other presents inviting him to sing at his court, the saint poet is purported to have sung this composition as a response. He is believed to have asked if this royal gesture is supposed to give him more happiness than being at Rama’s feet. We gathered more such legends and stories behind some of his popular compositions and strung them together and that is how Tyagabrahma Loka Charitam emerged,” she explains.

Bhanumathi's students

 

Bhanumathi’s eyes are filled with tears as she speaks about

Nenendu Vedakudura, which was Tyagaraja’s response when he discovered that his beloved Rama’s idol was thrown into the Cauvery, she says. “Tyagaraja did not have to aspire towards salvation. He was one with Rama right from the beginning. A picture of humility, it is awe-inspiring to get to know a saint poet so unaware of his own virtues and accomplishments,” she exclaims.

Abhinaya driven

Tyagabrahma Loka Charitam follows the format of a dance drama, says Bhanumathi. “I’m not well-versed with staging dance dramas but Sheela knows how to conceive one. My speciality is group choreography. So, we each played to our strengths and choreographed this production together. The challenge was also to give enough weightage to pure dance portions. Overall, the piece is largely abhinaya driven. So, we have used the popular, ‘Endharo Mahanubhavulu..’ as a nritta-heavy piece,” she explains.

Bhanumathi’s troupe will also make use of costumes specially designed for this production. “Generally, in our previous productions of Ramayana or Dashavatara, we didn’t feel the need for special attire. We used the traditional Bharatnatyam attire. But for this production, we felt that we needed to invest more thought in the aharya.”

Was there ever an apprehension that music will dominate and overshadow the dance portions? After all, this is a production about one of the greatest vaggeyakaras that there ever was. “My mother was a good singer and my father too was a connoisseur of music. While growing up, I’ve listened to some wonderful music and developed a good ear for it. So much so that when I began teaching and choreographing, I wouldn’t be able to think if the music for a particular dance piece wasn’t top-notch. The same applies to this production too. And obviously more so, because Tyagaraja is synonymous with music. Even if music dominates in a dance production on a musical genius such as him, I don’t mind, since his music is indeed the highlight of the production. Our endeavour has been to take dance to the level of the music.”

D.S. Srivatsa has written the connecting bits between the different songs in the production. “Srivatsa has written the connecting portions in Telugu. I want to see if, for the upcoming production, we can translate those into Kannada. I want to take this production to different parts of the country. I can change the language of the connecting portions according to each region, and the songs will anyway follow in their originality. That way, Tyagaraja can be taken to parts of the country which are still oblivious to him.”

“You know, many people still say that spirituality is a retirement plan,” adds Bhanumathi as a concluding thought. “But ask these girls and they will tell you that when we performed this production the first time, they did experience something unique. That’s the power of art. Art cannot be boring if the artist that is performing or creating it does it with conviction. Art is beautiful and spiritual.”

Ranjani Fine Arts organises a presentation of Tyagabrahma Loka Charitam on April 3 at 7 p.m. at The Bangalore Gayana Samaja, K.R. Road, Bengaluru. Tickets on www.bookmyshow.com