Kalamandalam Piyal is obsessively in love with his extensive research and its outcome-oriented reconstruction of Indian history with its ancient forms of music, dance and drama, as described in Bharata’s Natya Shastra. Since 2009, this winner of fellowships from the Sangeet Natak Akademi and the Ministry of Culture has been presenting several shows all over India. One such spectacular presentation in Kolkata was woven around Prakarana Geeti and Kapaal Geeti.
The former led to Asarita Vardhamana Vidhi. Asarita is an invocation. This Shiva stuti, intertwining arts with philosophy, was fashioned to transcend the performers and their spectators from the ordinary worldly existence. The Vardhamana Vidhi (stretching style) stretches a song with various tala patterns. Maintaining the typicality of Natya Shastra tradition, the tempo gradually slows down as it moves forward from kanishtha (small) to jyeshtha (big) Asarita. This part is a real test for the singer, as holding on to a note for long is not easy at all. The kutapa (group or orchestra), consisting of one gayak (male singer), one gayika (songstress), tala-vadya (percussion), tat (string)–vadya and sushir (wind)-vadya, fulfils the requirement according to Bharatamuni.
The lyrics and the notations of the asaritas have been derived from Mewar’s erudite musicologist king Maharana Kumbhakarna’s compilation of texts “Sangeet Raaj” (14th Century). According to the scriptures, each part of the lyrics needs to be sung twice. In the first part, the dancers express the meaning through mudra-abhinaya (emotive poses) and in the latter part perform angaharas to elaborate the transcendental meaning. The Vardhamana does not increase the tempo but follows the akshara of the tala. Such playing with beats without altering the speed of the tala in a fixed cycle and dancing along with it has been recognised as nirgeeta (apparently meaningless syllables) by Bharata.
At the beginning of the song, a nartaka (dancer), performed kanishtha asarita. The nartaki (danseuse) too displayed tremendous physical fitness coupled with grace and performed the layaantar or changed tempo. Later, by weaving karanas and angaharas, four dancers created pindi (ancient Indian choreography) infusing varied rhythmic patterns and well coordinated postures. The dancers displayed amazing control while executing slow and strong limb movements with agile stretches and, therefore, strenuous movements with delighting ease.
Next was Kapaal Geeti, which is recognised as the Brahma Geeti in the Natya Shastra, which are said to have been composed by Brahma (either the God or a mundane composer who wrote works on drama during the period from 600 BC to 50 BC).
Kalamandalam Piyal ventured out to bring his niche audience and initiated admirers close to the luminosity of ancient Indian philosophy that flowed in its music. There are seven such songs which are based on Shaiva-tatva or philosophy related to Shiva. The dancers created a pindi reflecting the inherent meaning of the song.
This led to the euphoric climax when all the kutapas (nritta and vadya) merged into each other to enhance the serene and spiritual ambience for rasanishpatti (aesthetic culmination), the ultimate goal of any recital.
The orchestra consisting of reconstructed ancient instruments like mridanga, dardur, vipanchi and kacchapi veena, alinga, etc, the subdued lights enhancing the effects of the earthen lamp-lit sets, the dancers, their near natural make-up, their costumes and ornaments — very aesthetically transported all to a period of Bharatamuni (app. 200 BC), the author of the Natya Shastra, the ‘Pancham Veda’.
(Kalamandalam Piyal gives a lecture-demonstration on Asarita Vardhamana Vidhi and Kapaal Geeti preceded by Mandala (combat-scenes in Natya) on March 18 at 10 a.m. during the Natya Samagam Festival of the Sangeet Natak Akademi at Agartala, Tripura)
