Dance is one of the cosmic forms of Lord Siva. It is obvious for a group of dancers from ‘Salangai Natyanjali' a school imparting training on Bharathanatyam to students in Tiruchi. The venue and timing were conducive for the students to exhibit their talent: the venue was Sri Akilandeswari sametha Sri Jambukeswarar temple and the worship formed part of the ‘Sivarathiri' rituals. In all, 13 girl students from Salangai Natyanalai gave their performance, captivating the audience for about three hours.
Dance is dear to Lord Siva. It is one of the fine arts which are directly involved with the cosmic form of the eternal force. “Dance is a serious form of fine arts and the students are up to it, realising its importance and religious significance,” said Birgadier B. Narayanasamy, president of the Salangai Natyanjali, in his brief inaugural address.
He appreciated the cooperation being extended by the parents for the performance.
Divided into nine major components, the programme commenced with ‘namaskriya' followed by the conventional ‘natyanjali', and keerthanam (both in Gambeeranattai ragam), Sri Subramania Kauthavam in ‘Shanmugapriya', Saptham (Thillai Ambalam) in ‘ragamalikai', varnam in Lathangi, Sri Devi Sthuthi in Kedaragaula ragam, keerthan in glory of Madurai Meenakshi in ‘Kalyani', and thillana in ‘pancharatnamalika'.
“We selected the songs to match the significance of Sivarathiri,” says Mugundan, director of Salangai Natyanjali.
The vocal support was given by Sundar Warriar and nattuvangam by Vijaya Mugundan, while G .Ganesan gave an intelligent support on mridangam and N. Veeramani on violin.
Earlier, the Kamakoti sisters - Jaya Bhargai and Jaya Mathangi - presented a vocal concert which was sponsored by Rasika Ranjana Sabha. The Akshaya linga vibho' a Dikshitar krithi, mesmerised the audience. The girls were accompanied on the violin by Deepika, on mridangam by Sriram. S.A.Dharmanathan, coordinator for the programme said the students underwent rigorous training for the programme.
Offer of worship by saints
Even as the dance performance was in progress near the Gubera Lingam shrine, religious fervour gripped every other prakaram of the temple. A large number of saints and seers from different parts of the state were seen performing ‘abhishekam' to Lord Siva in different forms. The one with Rishabarudanar attracted a number of devotees on the occasion.
