“Do not mistake the finger that points to the moon for the moon itself.” – Buddha
Human beings quickly forget so much of what they learn and what inspires them. Says K.S.R. Anirudha, “We cannot call ourselves ‘swayambhu’ (self-manifested). We are deeply inspired by the rich legacy our ancestors have left behind. At best, we are only carrying on a relay race and passing the baton from one generation to the next. Today, we find artists announcing at the beginning of the concert, ‘No video or audio recording allowed.’ Ironically, if our ancestors had withheld information and not shared their knowledge, we wouldn’t be in the race at all!”
It was indeed a humbling experience and an extremely inspiring session with the mridangam artist- advocate Anirudha. He is all excited as he talks about his latest production, ‘Tripaada,’ his inspirations and tryst with the world of mridangam and dance.
Anirudha’s learning process began by the power of observation. He keenly observed dance in all its adornment even from an early age of three. His mother, the celebrated dancer Sudharani Raghupathy, sent him away from her rehearsals and insisted that he concentrate on his studies. Yet, it is the forbidden fruit that entices. And so, it was that he also observed and tried his hand at the mridangam. He watched the mridangam artist, M. Balachander, who oft accompanied his mother for her performances. But it was not until his 11 grade, when a group of classmates forced him to participate in a show, where he played the drums using his mother’s plastic stool that he began to be noticed. Soon after, he played at Sri Krishna Gana Sabha for his mother’s production, ‘Shakti Prabhavam,’ where he was required to provide special effects. Critic Subbudu, in his characteristic style, wrote, “The Kerala drummer was loud and spoilt the show.”
From then on began Anirudha’s formal foray into the dance-music world. He was criticised by many who said, “He is only playing for his mother.” To this criticism, Anirudha humbly puts forth his argument of his ‘Tripaada’ theory concerning his life. “Can anyone fault Nandi because he played only for Siva?” And then again, he says, “Gurukulavaasam is only at the guru’s abode. Did not Jayammal and T.Vishwa accompany Balasaraswathy? I feel blessed to confess that my mother is my first pada -- the first step -- my first guru.”
His second step or second pada was the late Vidwan Madurai N. Krishna Iyengar. It was from him that Aniruddha learnt all the nuances of music necessary for dance. His third pada was with the mridangam maestro, Vidwan Umayalpuram K. Sivaraman. It was under his nurturing that the keen student learnt every aspect of the instrument. His formal training in mastering the techniques in the art of mridangam began here.
It was no surprise then that he was soon appreciated and rewarded with many awards -- Kalaimamani in 2003, and the Sangeet Natak Akademi’s Yuva Puraskar Award in 2007. Even these, he attributes to his good fortune of having been born to a great artist and later having been nurtured by legendary vidwans.
Observing and working hard, the urge in him to excel and explore creative dimensions prompted him to conceptualise and produce a full length dance-theatre production titled ‘Mammudha.’ It was well received by the audiences. Having tasted the success of his directorial venture and understanding its strengths and shortcomings, Anirudha is now ready with his latest production, Tripaada.
Its crux is to portray the ‘hugeness’ of God in comparison to Mahabali. Anirudha explains that when Vishnu took His various avatars, it was always to put an end to evil. However in Mahabali’s case, God knew that Mahabali, the grandson of Prahlada, was a pious and benevolent king. Yet, his one failing proved to be his undoing -- Mahabali was aware of his goodness but had a king-sized ego (in this case, Satvik ahankara) and this was reason enough for Mahavishnu to pay him a visit, thereby letting the world know that we need to seek only Him and that all begins and ends with Him.
If ‘Mammudha’ saw Anirudha making use of the elaborate paraphernalia, ‘Tripaada’ promises to be austere relying on the strength of the story, music and choreography. It can be perceived on three levels -- Tamasvic, Rajasvic and Satvik states. He uses three dialects -- colloquial Tamizh, Kambar Tamizh and Avvaiyar Tamizh. Three forms of dance -- Tai Chi, Kalari and Bharatanatyam; three variations to music compositions – Bhagavatham (Sanskrit), Dasar kriti (Kannada) and the Onam song (Malayalam).
It is equally heart-warming to see Anirudha take some time in between his busy schedules to argue his cases and defend the needy. His wife Lakshmi says, “It is his dream to build an empire for the under-privileged.” We recall Gibran’s words “It is only when we give of ourselves that we truly give.” That maybe one small step for Anirudha, but a giant leap for the needy.
