King Sahaji of Thanjavur (1684 and 1712), the second Maratha king, ascended the throne at the age of 13. He was a great scholar and patron of arts and literature. His versatility extended in both sangita and sahitya. His patronage was so great that he was called the “Abhinava Bhoja.” Sahaji also created a colony in Tiruvisanallur near Kumbakonam to accommodate 45 musicians and writers from all over the South. He donated the village and renamed it as “Saharajapuram” or “Sáhajirajapuram”.
His period may be described as the golden era of literature, art, religion and philosophy in the Cauvery Delta. His erudition in all aspects of art emanated in innumerable dance and music compositions in different languages. His linguistic skills can be seen in his short work, ‘Pancha Bhasha Vilasa Nataka.’ He authored a number of works across genres - drama, poetry, Prabandha, darus, padams and technical treatises like Raga Lakshana. He composed Pada sahityas, for more than 500, in Marathi and Telugu. There are around 20 Telugu dance-dramas, 22 in Marathi, three in Hindi and one each in Tamizh and Sanskrit. We find the name of his family deity, “Tyagesa” in many of his Padams, 208 in number, all preserved in the Thanjavur Sarasvati Mahal Library.
Sahaji was an Advaitin and a staunch devotee of Lord Tyagesa of Tiruvarur, family deity. It is said that he used to have his mid-day meal only after ascertaining that the mid-day worship of the deity was completed at Tiruvarur, which fact was conveyed to him by relay bells.
A book with 15 of Sahaji’s compositions, compiled by Madhavi Rajagopalan, published by Giri Trading Agencies, will be released on the occasion. The 11 items for the thematic dance presentation have been chosen from Tyagesa padams and will include a Kavuthuvam, Thodaya Mangalam, Sallamu Daru, Padams and Mangalam. Some are in Manipravalam with a mixture of Tamil, Telugu and Marathi lyrics.
Sahaji had mentioned only the ragas and talas for the items and Madhavi has tuned and notated them in the respective ragas. In a few cases, where the raga was not given, she has chosen suitable ones. She will also give an introductory talk on the subject.
Madhavi, a disciple of Thiruppampuram Swaminatha Pillai and padam exponent T. Jayammal, had done research on ‘Tamil padam composers and their contribution to Carnatic music,’ under the guidance of Prof. Sambamurthy for her post graduation at the University of Madras. She has presented many lec-dems on the theme, including at the Music Academy, and at the recent centenary celebrations of T. Muktha.
Madhavi and Nandini met during a Navaratri festival programme at the Wesleyan University, U.S., for which they had been invited by Prof. T. Viswanathan. Their friendship has made possible some interesting projects including this production.
The dance will feature Revathi Ramachandran , Srekala Bharath , Shobana Bhalchandra and Sushama Ranganathan . Senior Jayanti Subramaniam will do the nattuvangam. The production has been supported by the Ministry of Culture, Government of India, under its Production Grant Scheme.
‘Rare Dance Compositions of King Sahaji of Thanjavur,’ with musical format by Madhavi Rajagopalan and dance visualisation by Nandini Ramani, will be presented on November 20, 6.30 p.m., at the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Mylapore. Present will be veteran Carnatic vocalist P.S. Narayanaswamy and Dr. Saskia Kersenboom, Bharatanatyam artist, renowned scholar, founder-director, Parampara, and former Associate Professor, Department of Theatre Studies, University of Amsterdam.
