In the context of Margazhi and the dynamics around it, so much has shifted; yet, so much remains the same. For artistes, both in India and abroad, it is an opportunity to showcase their skills and premiere new works for an audience that congregates essentially and exclusively to soak in the arts.
“Think of it as a film that releases on Deepavali,” says Urmila Sathyanarayanan. “It’s a tradition, almost, right?”
It is also a time when performers-cum-teachers present their students on stage. “Creating ensemble works featuring me and my students and sharing them with a larger audience are exciting,” says Srekala Bharath, explaining why she chooses to unveil new works during the Season.
Vidhya Subramanian admits things have changed drastically from the early years of her dancing career — she will celebrate 40 years of her arangetram next year — and yet, the spaces where work is shared, she says, “are imbued with a history of collective energies of several dancers who have performed here.
Urmila Sathyanarayanan
“‘Thadathagai’ just happened by chance” says Urmila, of this mammoth production that features 55 dancers, all trained under the umbrella of her school Natya Sankalpa. It is an effort to portray the story of Madurai Meenakshi.
Drawing inspiration from the 13th Century text Thiruvilaiyaadal Puranam, with inputs from Kumaraguruparar’s Meenakshi Pillai Tamizh Paripadal and Silappadikaram to mention a few.
‘Thadathagai’ is the Tamil name of the goddess, and the production brings to the fore lesser-known facts about the goddess who was adept at every skill and craft that she pursued, always taking her guru by surprise and demonstrating strength and beauty at the same time.
With music by Embar Kannan, Urmila has re-created a piece of history through dance. ‘And the process was deeply challenging,” she says.
Thadathagai – The Eternal Queen of Madurai, which premiered on December 16 at Narada Gana Sabha with be staged next at Bharat Kalachar on December 28 and Thyaga Brahma Gana Sabha on Jan 1.
Vidhya Subramaniam in ‘Ardha’ | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Vidhya Subramanian
For many years now, Vidhya Subramanian confesses to being near-obsessed with Radha, which set the context of ‘Ardha — The Incomplete Dream’, her new solo thematic work.
Ardha began as a quest to seek and present Radha in her own right, beyond the notions of her being a beloved of Krishna. As a result, Radha takes the lead in this work, establishing her both as a reality and an illusion and reiterating the possibility of her residing in each of us as a representation of the idea of beauty, longing and worship. Finding inspiration from the book, Finding Radha by Namita Gokhale, and employing the spoken word in the final section, Ardha is as personal as it is collective.
“In the final part, Aradhana, my focus is to argue Radha’s case for being constantly criticised as the woman whose faults are almost always greater than that of a man,” says Vidhya says. And in claiming space for Radha, around and within, Vidhya becomes Radha. ‘Ardha’ is that journey.
Ardha – The Incomplete Dream premieres on December 27 at Sri Krishna Gana Sabha
Parvathy Menon in ‘Punarjani’. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Parvathy Menon
In August, after the Kalavaahini Trust awarded Parvathy Menon, the Senior Fellowship and commissioned work for the Dance for Dance Festival, curated by Malavika Sarukkai, Parvathy Menon began an intense search for ideas and decided to explore the notion of re-birth.
Titled ‘Punarjani’, investigates the process of transformation. “And when I say transformation, I mean purely in the spiritual context,” says Parvathy. “I firmly believe that all of us go through a period of transformation to realise there is something higher and beyond us.”
To tell this story, Parvathy chose verses from the Kalika Puranam. “As I journeyed with ‘Punarjani’, it became more and more personal; I began to draw from stories of my own transformation,” says Parvathy, for whom it was challenging to create her first full-length thematic solo work that is not in the margam format.
Punarjani premieres on December 23 at the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan.
Srekala Bharath. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Srekala Bharath
This year, Srekala Bharath and her eight students will present ‘Shakti Mahimai’ that will focus on the different avatars of the goddess. “I am the sutradhar (narrator) in this production,” says Srekala, who began thinking about this work in August this year while she was in London and found that she had time on her hands.
Cognizant of the changing dynamics of an audience, Srekala recognises that to sustain attention and interest, it is important to infuse the work with a certain pace and vibrancy. “’Shakthi Mahimai’ is that; it is really meant to bring alive the goddess in all her glory,” she adds.
Shakthi Mahimai premieres on January 7, 7p.m. at the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Mylapore.
