When Ratan Tata came to Madurai

He came to grace an arangetram. He saw the entire dance programme. He conquered the hearts of all.

August 20, 2014 05:43 pm | Updated 08:20 pm IST - MADURAI

It is one thing to watch the arangetram of an aspiring dancer, who may or may not be known to you. It is another thing to watch it sitting inside a packed auditorium. And it is absolutely a different thing to watch an arangetram with India’s corporate czar Ratan Tata amidst you.

Last Thursday was one such rare occasion for hundreds of Maduraiites occupying every inch of space inside the Lakhsmi Sundaram Hall. They had all been invited to young Lakshmi Thiagarajan’s dance performance. The 14-year-old great grand daughter of Madurai’s iconic industrialist Karumuttu Thiagarajan Chettiar made a spirited debut. Her three hour solo concert depicted the range of the Bharatanatyam repertoire incorporating the elements of nritta, nritya and natya.

In front of her guru, Shanthini Arunagiri -- a disciple of Neela Krishnamoorthy and an exponent in the contemporary pandanallur style of the classical dance form -- the teenaged sishya demonstrated her training, skills and knowledge. With her coordination of intricate footwork and hand gestures, facial expressions and emotions, and the symmetry of slow and fast movements, Lakshmi rose to the challenge of the compositions that demanded physical stamina, grace, composure and understanding.

Her performance elicited rounds of applause from the audience. But the best compliment perhaps came from the man of the moment, the chairman emeritus of TATA group. All eyes and ears were fixed on Mr.Tata as he rose to address the gathering. As the audience bathed in his genteel aura, he said much like the young dancer, he too enjoyed the beauty of what she had achieved with joy in the form of dance. He said he was impressed by her ability and the mental process of going through the sequence of steps in long compositions at such a young age.

Appreciating the young dancer for entertaining and inspiring the audience, Mr.Tata wished her all success, happiness and peace of mind. “May success continue to shine on her,” he said to rapturous applause and young Lakshmi, daughter of M.Thiagarajan and Kamala Thiagarajan, could not have perhaps dreamt of a better ascent to the professional stage.

Her grandmother and the CMD of Paramount Textiles, Ms.Lakshmi Murugesan, described Mr.Tata as the ‘’pride of the nation’’ whose visit was like a dream come true for Madurai. “Whether it is for our cup of tea or coffee or even salt, we remember Mr.Ratan Tata every morning,” she said.

It was Mr.Tata’s fourth visit to the temple town, the last one being 20 years ago. And when he said, “It is wonderful to be in Madurai,” everything about him was wrapped in a gentle breeze of humility.

Fast paced Lakhsmi Thiagarajan danced to specially selected combination of the technical jatis and folk songs. She displayed her mastery of eight traditional pieces”. The thillana and the kuravanji in particular were fast-paced and the audience responded enthusiastically.

The varnam, ' Velanaikanbom vareer' , held a deeper significance as the Karumuttu's were the caretakers of the famed Sikkal Singara Velan temple for years where, as mythology has it, Lord Muruga received the sacred Vel from his divine parents and sought their blessings to defeat the evil asura, which he eventually did at Thiruchendur. This enactment by Lakshmi meant a lot to the family.

Not only was Lakshmi’s marvellous performance lauded but also the tasteful stage setting and décor by Sri.Kannan (Deiva homes), costumes by Sri.S.Natarajan, Palani, coupled with the make-up complemented it. The musical team provided apt support with vocals by K.K.Vignesh, nattuvangam by Kalaisundarmani Shanthini Arunagiri, mirudhangam by Mirudhanga Nathamani Madurai Sri S Anantha Krishna and Innisaimani Sri.K.M.S.Meenakshi Sundaram.

The spirit and beauty of any arangetram comes through when the hard work done by the guru and sishya is coupled with ardent love, perfect understanding and support from family and friends. Young Lakshmi had it in full. Her uncle Ramu Murugesan compered the show. Mr.Karumuttu T.Kannan, the Managing Director of Thiagarajar Mills, said how he had first seen his sister (Lakshmi Murugesan) and then her grand daughter -- the evening’s star performer -- grow with a dedication to the art form.

It requires lot of time, energy and effort to master it and immerse in the spirit of the dance. “Not all of us can sing or dance but at least we should learn to appreciate our traditional arts,” he said.

The presence of the Governor of Tamil Nadu, Dr.K.Rosaiah, added to the solemnity of the occasion even though it was Ratan Tata who upped the charm and curiosity of the event. He was on a strictly private visit as a friend of the family and chose to spend the four hours he had in Madurai inside the auditorium. When he walked in without any paraphernalia, the houseful auditorium fell into silence. For, when Mr.Ratan Tata stands, sits, walks or talks, all that is good about human nature is felt. Even on the dais, it took him some persuasion to be seated next to the chief guest. But he struck a chord of benignity watching the entire programme before flying off to Mumbai for his onward journey to France the same night.

As the guests departed, the evening got sealed as a beautiful memorable affair not only for the young dancer and her family but for the people of Madurai too. And of course, every moment was mentored and supported for the artist to accomplish.

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