The Bharatanatyam artist today has immense scope to improvise and innovate with presentations including contemporary subjects and poetry.
The relevance of the Margam in today’s context will merit an expert’s analysis what with old compositions and styles either totally left out or modified. The two-day symposium, organised by Leela Samson, under the auspices of her dance school Spanda, gains significance in this backdrop.
It is an effort to revisit the varnams of the famous Thanjavur Quartet, precisely the ones so beautifully presented by dancers until three decades ago and now forgotten.
It is 20 years since The Spanda Dance Company came into being and what better way to celebrate than pay respect to the masters, who made the art so colourful and aesthetic through their compositions. On August 24 and 25 , 6-8.30 p.m. , four artists will take the stage to showcase some of these vintage varnams, in turn bringing into focus the tradition set by some great nattuvanars such as Kittappa Pillai, Balasaraswati and Ellappa.
The venue is Smt Sivakami Pethachi Auditorium , Alwarpet.
On August 24, C.V. Chandrasekhar will present ‘Sarasijaakshiro,’ swarajati in Yadukula Khambodi. Nandini Ramani will be presenting ‘Maa Mohalahiri’ swarajati in Khamas and ‘Sarasijaakshudu’ in Kalyani.
On August 25 , Sudharani Raghupathy will explore ‘Sami Ninne,’ the ashtaragamalika composition, along with the Quartet’s version of the Husseini swarajati, ‘Ye Mandayaanaraa.’
Lakshmi Viswanathan will present ‘Daanike” (Thodi) and the famous Bhairavi varnam, ‘Viriboni.’
Veteran vocalist R. Vedavalli will embellish the presentation with her musical inputs, while Dr. R. Nagaswamy and Dr. Chitra Madhavan will highlight the temple rituals and history connected to the subject.
