Old is indeed gold -- as the 2015 Bharatakalanjali production, ‘Azhagu Deivam’ proved. Not because it took the Tamil compositions of Periaysamy Thooran and set it to the tested style of the Dhananjayans but because tribute was paid to all these factors by the students of the guru who has guided and trained them for several years. And that is something that cannot go wrong especially in today’s times when nothing really lasts long.
So not only was it a tribute to the lineage of the music and dance but also to the system of gurukulam.
In this production, the Dhananjayans had not only chosen to pay tribute to the beautiful language of Tamil but took devotion-filled music and compositions of a great poet and lyricist to set it to dance.
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Set to music by T.K. Govinda Rao and Turaiyur Rajagopala Sarma, the production was comforting in the fact that there were no surprises, no gimmicks or anything other than strict adherence to the bani propagated by Bharatakalanjali. And that turned out to be the strongest factor in favour of the production.
With strong, impassioned compering by Radhika Shurjit, the programme began with a prostration to Lord Muruga – he is the central deity of adoration and focus and Thooran Thiruppugazh’s ‘Kuzhandai Paruvathile’ showcased the young Muruga or Azhagu-Deivam, an incredibly beautiful child – the simple Kavadi steps leading the Little Lord to the prayer and wonder of the bhakta (played with simplicity by V.P. Dhananjayan).
This was followed by a sprightly group dance and finished off with a colourful cameo.
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‘Ennenna Vilayaadalamma’, ragamalika, was performed by Sreelatha Vinod with quiet competence and sans drama – which is a good thing considering how this Gurunatha can take many forms but the energy is still quite the same. It is tempting in such pieces to make it dramatic to drive home this point.
The Nrityopaharam, kind of a varnam, one of the celebrated pieces of the Dhananjayans, ‘Aadum Mayil Vaahananaam,’ ragamalika, is a dance infused conversation between two sakhis – like a sawal/ jawab where one plays the Devil’s advocate to test the extent of love.
It was simply rendered despite the fact that Thooran has used puns to highlight the play of words to deepen the nature of love and the steadiness of intent. Performed by Pavithra Srinivasan and Divya Shivasundar, the music was set by Rajagopala Sarma exclusively for Bharatakalanjali in 1974.
‘Ariyaparuvam’ in Kedaragowla was a gentle padam performed by Tulsi Badrinath. This padam is from Thooran’s musical opera ‘Kaadal Valli Kanda Murugan.’ ‘Nalla Kanna’ in Kharaharapriya showcased the nayika who dreams of Azhagan Murugan and narrates it to her sakhi - executed with elan by Shobana Bhalchandra.
In the purely devotional ‘Muruga Muruga’ in Saveri, a popular composition of Thooran, the bhakta craves the mercy of Muruga for redemption and grace. Done with bhakti and in the manner that the Dhananjayans are famous for, it was good to watch Dhananjayan take centre stage.
The rest of the evening comprised ‘Vandanoru Vedan’, a short scene from Bharatakalanjali’s ‘Valli Thirumanam Natya Natakam, performed by Gopukiran Ashin Mathew and Mahalakshmi Balaji; ‘Azhagu Deivam’, the Kavadi Chindu mettu in Chaturasram, a group dance that dealt with the lovely Kavadi Chindu tune so integral to Muruga worship – the highlight being the way the Child God transforms into Arumurugan, metaphorically speaking.
Decent, consistent quality of dancing combined with the right amount of dexterity in footwork and bhava - a trademark of all Bharatakalanjli productions - saw to it that the production was enjoyed by all present in the audience.
On the nattuvangam was Shanta Dhananjayan. Vocals by Murali Parthasarathi and Gnanaprasuna was adequate, while Vedakrishnan on the mridangam/percussions, Sreedharan on the edakka, T.K. Padmanabhan on the violin, Sunil Kumar on the flute and Lakshminarayan on the tambura provided good support.
Lights and audio by Venkatesh and Murugan completed the ensemble.