Culture and Conversation

The Bhagavata Mela theatre form is a tradition rooted in Puranas or Hindu epics. The Bhagavata Mela Utsavam that takes place in Melattur today uses the dance dramas composed by Melattur Venkatrama Shastri for the last 200 years. Vijay Madhavan who formally learnt Bharatanatyam from Chitra Visweswaran trained to become a Bhagavata Mela artiste from a very young age and has been a part of this hallowed tradition for the last 34 years. Vijay took over a set of roles like Bhumi D

Every year, during the month of May, a village not too far from the Chola heartland of Thanjavur lights up with much pomp and grandeur. Narasimha Jayanthi, a Hindu festival that is celebrated in the month of Vaisakha holds great significance for the village and hence a grand fortnight-long Nritya-Nataka Utsavam is organised.  The Varadaraja Perumal temple on Agraharam Street at Melattur in Thanjavur. | Photo Credit: The Hindu In the truest sense Melattur is an art village bec

The dancer blazed a trail in Bharatanatyam | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement Bharatanatyam as a dance form in the post-revival years was popularised greatly by someone so famous that many parents named their daughters after her. She inspired girls from middle-class families to take up the dance form at a time when women from non-hereditary caste locations were discouraged to do so.  Described as the ‘Queen of Dance’ by none other than Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Kumari Kamala

Deepa Mahadevan’s solo production ‘Maiyal’ examined love mainly through the lens of an enraged nayika, who wishes to claim ownership over her lover Krishna. While the performance featured a few popular pieces, it was anchored by a Tamil composition of Deepa’s guru Madurai R. Muralidharan, which stood out for its simplicity and directness. Maiyal, the thematic Bharatanatyam performance by Deepa Mahadevan at NGS on May 6, 2023. | Photo Credit: SRINATH M As the performance progr

Anugrah Lakshmanan presented a short thematic concert dedicated to compositions in praise of Vishnu and his various manifestations. His co-artistes that evening were V.S.P Gayatri Sivani on the violin, Mannarkoil J.Balaji on the Mridangam and S.Krishna on the Ghatam. The concert began brightly with Swati Tirunal’s Aarabhi piece ‘Narasimha Mamava’. This was followed by a Tamil composition in Asaveri ‘Sharanam Sharanam Raghurama’. This composition of Arunachala Kavi is usually

The nuances of nishadam in Surutti make it a rather tricky note to navigate. It can frustrate a veena player who tries to produce the sound by pulling the string at the dhaivatam or panchamam fret. During descending phrases, it changes its shape to form a slightly lower note than in ascending phrases. Hence it is important to understand the intention and use it carefully, according to the phrase being sung. Senior vocalist S.Sowmya’s Surutti alapana interwove choice phrases o

When it comes to abhinaya, one can never forget T. Balasaraswati. While it is undeniable that she was a crucial link to the past by way of her illustrious lineage, representing seven generations of hereditary performers, she also had the extraordinary ability to floor audiences through her extempore abhinaya. One recalls American ethnomusicologist Robert E. Brown’s words, “Balasaraswati performed the same piece 15 times during a concert tour, yet rendered each version anew by

Yashoda Thakore first learnt of the famed courtesans Muddupalani and Rangajamma when she did her Master’s in dance. Her grandmother had recounted Muddupalani’s acclaimed work ‘Radhika Santvanam’ as a gem of Telugu literature, well-known for its ‘Radha bhava’. Yashoda was thrilled at the very idea that she could be a descendant of someone like Rangajamma who was renowned for her beauty and literary talent. Her professor painted these women as illusory beings!  However, she fou

Bharath Narayan started his recital for Mudhra with the Kambhoji Ata tala varnam ‘Sarasijanabha’. A good grip over layam was observed when he navigated the chiseled charanam and chittaswarams of this piece. This was followed by ‘Namami Vighna Vinayaka’ of CS Krishnaswamy Ayya in Hamsadhwani. The exchanges between Bharath and R.Raghul on the violin were sharp and firm when fast swaras were sung at ‘Kumara Sodara’. Bharath Narayan | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement – The Hindu

Dr. R. Ganesh’s recital for  Mudhra  reflected the singer’s artistic maturity and thoroughness in concert presentation. A diverse selection of ragas, songs, languages and composers helped him steer the performance effectively. He was accompanied by Gayatri Vibhavari on the violin, J.P. Suriya Nambisan on the mridangam and N. Sundar on the morsing. Dr. R . Ganesh performing for Mudhra. Accompanying him are Gayatri Vibhavari on the violin, J.P. Suriya Nambisan on the mridangam

பரதநாட்டியக் கலைஞர், முனைவர் 'திருநங்கை' நர்த்தகி நடராஜ் அவர்கள் இந்தியாவில் "பத்மஸ்ரீ" விருது பெரும் முதல் திருநங்கை ஆனார். இதைபற்றிய செய்தி இந்திய அரசாங்கத்தால் ஜனவரி 25ஆம் தேதி, 2019 அன்று வெளியிடப்பட்டது. இச்செய்தி ஊடகங்களாலும், நர்த்தகி அவர்களின் ரசிகர்களாலும், சக நாட்டிய கலைஞர்களாலும் பெரும் பாராட்டுக்களையும் வரவேற்பையும் பெற்றுள்ளது. (படம் : www.narthakinataraj.com ) அவரின் பால் அடையாளத்தினை அவரது குடும்பம் ஏற்காததால் வீட்டை விட்டு வெளியேறும் சூழல் இவருக்கு மிகச் சிறிய

Weaving together the pieces of a typical maargam into a thematic presentation is quite a complex task. However, Rakshita Raghunathan & Ragini Iyer did this quite convincingly in their recent Bharatanatyam duet titled ‘Adhyantara – The Journey of a Goddess.’ Pieces that were centred around Meenakshi (and Devi as an extension) were taken up in their short recital.  Starting off with an Alarippu that incorporated several gestures associated with Devi like her eyes that are shape

Image belongs to Kattaikkuttu Sangam, Photo by PeeVee The Mahabharata, a voluminous epic, has many memorable characters. Despite leading quite a tragic life that finally came to an end on the battlefield between the Pandavas and Kauravas, Karna was known for his benevolence and compassion. Stories from the Mahabharata form an integral part of the Kattaikkoothu repertoire. This challenging Tamil theatre form where actors are required to sing, dance, act and speak dialogues han

Rukmini Devi – a personality with several layers Biographies usually tend to be uninteresting as they are endlessly filled with facts and events. However, VR Devika's books are unconventional maybe because she is a person who loves telling stories! One can perceive her child-like enthusiasm in gathering and putting together various details in a manner that never tires the reader. In her biography of the great Bharatanatyam revivalist Rukmini Devi Arundale, Devika has attempte

When I first read the great T.Balasaraswati's biography by her son-in-law Douglas Knight in the year of its release (2010-11, if my memory serves me right), I found that she had a student named Shyamala Mohanraj from Jaffna, Sri Lanka. As I was reading the book, I simultaneously watched several videos of dancers following the Bala Bani to visually experience what I was reading. That is when I chanced upon Shyamala Amma's videos. I was stunned at her dedication and steadfastne