Dancing to the 1,000 names

Vishnu Sahasranamam gets a new dimension

Tales from mythology and epics often get translated into vocal and dance performances. Here is the latest to join the club.

Titled ‘Thirumaalin Peyargal 1,000,’ it is the Tamil translation of Sri Vishnu Sahasranamam and is being performed in the Bharatanatyam format, uner the auspices of Jayadhaarini Trust.

The live recording of the performance, which was presented at The Music Academy, Chennai, recently, will be screened tomorrow, 6.15 p.m., at MM preview theatres, North Usman Road, T. Nagar, Chennai.

Twenty four artistes including dancer-actors Gayathri, Sanjay Bhargav and Ammu Ramachandran are part of this innovative project.

“To develop Tamil literature is the focus,” says Padmanabhan of the Trust, who is the person behind this endeavour. “The experience of staging ‘Seevaga Chintamani’ encouraged me to take up this project,” he adds.

The album comprises 172 songs in Tamil that are set to tune in 45 ragas by HMV Raghu, who was closely associated with M.S. Subbulakshmi and was the recording engineer for the audio track of

Sri Venkatesa Suprabatham and

Sri Vishnu Sahasranamam popularised by the legendary vocalist. “Ragas have been selected to keep the tone and tenor of the verses intact,” says Padmaja, who has rendered the songs along with V.V. Prasanna.

Says HMV Raghu, “When this project was given to me, I preferred the tune to be as simple as a chant or in ragamalika like ‘Bhaja Govindam.’ More so because it was scripted in a venba style and that it involves more editing work. I initially thought it would be monotonous but as the work progressed I found it extremely engaging. It was a different experience,” said Raghu, who has also lent his voice for one of the songs.

Credits: Tamil translation by Ilanagar Kanchinathan. Choreography by Gayathri Ramani of Annai Natyalaya; Akshay Padmanabhan presents the ‘Poorvanyasam,’ a detailed description of Viswaroopam of Lord Vishnu and Dushyanth Sridhar delivers the discourse on Palastuti. For details call 98415 92775/98402 62578.