'Mohamana' epitomising varnam as an event

Prakriti Foundation mounted a two-day Mohamana event in Chennai recently. What was significant was the integrated approach to the curating of Mohamana, treating the varnam not as an isolated happening but as evolving and flowing from a total and specific socio-cultural context, writes LEELA VENKATARAMAN.

BORDERING ON colloquialism in the ordinariness of its words, which cannot be strictly categorised as literature, manuscript, grammar or poetry, the Varnam translates into soul stirring music and a grand majestic edifice of movement and abhinaya in Bharatanatyam. A typical example of a half a dozen line text being set to an evocative score in Bhairavi and spun into dance through Guru Kandappa Pillai and embellished by the grandeur of Bala Saraswati's creative genius, to leave indelible impressions on the Bharatanatyam parampara, is ``Mohamana en meedu nee inda velaiyil modi seyyalamo en Saami'', the varnam in its original authorship ascribed to Ponniah Pillai.

Perhaps it is the simplicity of word composition, which allowed artistes the creative space to build around the text, an entire world of sound and movement imagery. Are the colours of sringar depicted in the varnam irrelevant to-day? Should this centrepiece of a Bharatanatyam presentation in stylistic terms be preserved, and should a varnam be the sole inheritance of the school of Bharatanatyam that gave it first life, or is it property to be appropriated by all schools of Bharatanatyam? Does the smitten heroine need rehauling in the contemporary situation? How far have traditional arts in their revival adhered to the orthodox premises?

To consider all this and more, Prakriti Foundation mounted a two- day Mohamana event at the Amethyst, Sunder Mahal on December 9, 10. What was significant was the integrated approach to the curating of Mohamana, treating the varnam, not as an isolated happening, but as evolving and flowing from a total and specific socio-cultural context.

On the auspicious day of Kartigai, brightly lit giant lamps cast their glow on the performance space full of the visual images of Tyagaraja of Tiru-Aroor (Tiruvarur) to whom the varnam Mohamana is dedicated. An exhibition of sensitive photographs by Usha Kris and S. Anwar and Cylla Von Tiedman, caught scenes of Tiruvarur, not as just a map of silent artistic architectural landmarks, but as a whole ethos of living people whose life activity revolved round the temple. This Mooladhara Kshetra whose Divinity goes back in time to very ancient days and whose Siva has been sung by Appar and Sundarar in the Tevaram hymns as Valmikinatha and Vitivitanka is here known as Tyagesa or Tyagaraja, the God embodying both nirguna and saguna traits. He represents sound (Nada Brahaman). He is also Breath residing in the altar of Vishnu's chest, propitiated by the Preserver Himself. This entire concept underlines the reconciling of the different strains of Saivism and Vaishnavism.

The performance was heralded by the swelling tones of the Nagaswaram by Kalaimamani Tiruvarur S. Lachhappa and party. Nothing could have been more fitting, considering the special connection between the preservation of this parampara in Tiruvarur and the link with temple ritual. Right from the Hamsadhwani start dedicated to the Mooladhara moorti, the performance, with the songs special to certain occasions of temple ritual, also, on the second evening, included an introduction to the special ivory nagaswaram, a priced family heirloom. The sense of history was very strong, even while the claim of the instrument being with the parampara for over 2,500 years can be questioned.

The tone set, it was left to the disciples of the Kandappa Pillai/ Balasaraswati school to claim the stage for presenting a varnam it has prior claims over. The screening of the Satyajit Ray film on Bala performing `Mohamana', while setting off vibes of nostalgia in the audience, is actually disappointing. Fifty nine-year old Bala, still recuperating from a major operation, dancing on the sea shore, her saree billowing in the faint breeze, hardly adds up to the right formula for seeing Bala at her best, when she metamorphosed into brilliant improvisations built round each line of the song, to make hearts sing. And poor preservation of the archival material has smudged the distinct features of the face, so central to all abhinaya. But all the same, the screening made a statement on the historic connection of Bala with the Mohamana varnam.

Research scholar and author Saskia Kersenboom introduced the subject of Mohamana and how her foray into the temple culture of Tiruvarur had given her an insight into a whole world of relationships - particularly of the `anbu' or affection and love in its erotic and non-erotic underpinnings so central to this culture. She had experienced the thrill of following the procession of Tyagaraja during Arudra, oblivious to losing a toenail in the melee. When no less a person than V. S. Tyagaraja Mudaliar tore out a strip of his dhoti to bandage the bleeding toe, it was another hearty reinforcement of the `anbu' of a people, who value human relationships. She spoke of her training under Nandini Ramani that had instilled in her a feel for `auchitya' (appropriateness of whatever was presented in Bharatanatyam to the context.), and of the reverence in which the Tyagesa cult was held.

Defined locale in Nandini's dance

Nandini Ramani's performance of the varnam `Mohamana', came after a brief introduction where she mentioned the unbroken music/dance chain in the Bharatanatyam of yester year. With her credentials of a father who supplied the entire literary/cultural understanding and a teacher like Bala for the dance, she had a foundation few dancers could boast of. The performance, particularly when weighed against the fact that it was by one not in the constant performance circuit, was very impressive. The elaborations woven round the opening statement of the smitten nayika, who even in the whisper of the breeze hears and sees only Tyagesa, for whom she pines, and the `Bhoga Tyagesa' line were apt, and never lost the main thrust of the statement in the lyric by getting over-stretched. And through the imagery of the Oduvars, and myriad manifestations of the Lord, the consciousness of Kshetra, of Sthalam, of Vriksham and of the `locale' and the specific cultural context, was very evident. And the Kandappa teermanams in their subtle virtuosity provided rhythmic punctuation without ever interfering with the melodic flow and continuity. The slight acceleration in the finishing segments, and the getting away from the `sama' start, which the kalapramanam conscious Carnatic musical system does not endorse, showed how dramatic intensity evoking the feel of a climax, overrode grammatical prescriptions. The nervousness, which the dancer confessed to in her opening remarks, could only be felt after each segment of the varnam, in the constant adjustment of the pallu, which was perfectly in position.

The music also reflected the line of tradition with K. Ramaiah performing the nattuvangam and Saraiyur Srinivasan giving vocal support. Kanchipuram Ekambaram was on the mridangam, T. N. Murthy played the flute and R. Ramani, the veena.

The question hour provoked the inevitable issue of the relevance of the varnam to-day. The difficulty is in seeing an art form, which was meant to map out the inner landscape of emotions and mind, as an extroverted art statement on current issues. The plethora of contextual references in a varnam constitutes both its strength and its weakness. For the person who does not see beyond its external form, the varnam is just glossy technique, while for one who goes into the depths of its background, the varnam is ever relevant, transcending the limits of time. The sringar theme here is a metaphor for the eternal yearning of a human being, the quest for becoming one with a force beyond him. If the universalised state of yearning and quest is looked at from the view-point of particularising the object or end yearned for, then the entire dance perspective becomes different.

Centre for ritual music

Devesh Soneji, based in Canada spoke briefly, before the disciples of Guru Kittappa Pillai presented another version of `Mohamana' the second evening. His remarks, based on diligent research and scholarship, touched on Tiruvarur as not just the centre of the classical musical parampara and birthplace of the trinity, but, with its earlier historical importance, as the centre for ritual music. He particularly emphasised the Nagaswaram parampara, which had preserved Dikshitar's compositions. He also mentioned in passing, special instruments such as the Panchamukha vadyam and suddha-melam, still played in Tiruvarur.

Devesh mentioned the Periyamurai, Chinnamurai stratification with a separate repertoire for each. He spoke also of the Kondi parampara of dedicated women who did temple service to Tyagesa. The Sangam work Pattinapalai describes how women captured from enemy kingdoms were used to sweep and wash up the temples. They were called `Konti makalir'. Referring to them as dedicated women, he gave examples of Manikka Nachchiyar and Kondi Amma and also talked of women like Kamala-Muttu who perhaps were the very first women to present and perform the quartette compositions.

Devesh, while giving the example of how Siva as `Vithi-Vitankar' in Tiruvarur is known as `Dakshina Meru Vitankar' and `Tanjai Vitankar' in the Brihadeeswara temple of Thanjavur, talked of the ```esoteric' link between Tiruvarur and Tanjavur.''

Complete dancer

Different from the more rounded fluidity of Nandini Ramani's style, was the crisp geometry of lines and full extensions in the first part of the varnam presented by Srividya Natarajan, a disciple of Kittappa Pillai. With her sensitively emoting face and internalised strength of abhinaya and fine dance lines, not to speak of razor sharp teermanams, the first two lines of the varnam were rendered with such impact that one was left wondering as to why such a complete dancer as Srividya is not more sought after by the sabhas of Chennai.

Indu Varma who continued the presentation with the line `Nagarikamana tirunagaril vasare' did not have the same weight or intensity in her dance, which did not go beyond pleasantness.

Harikrishnan, Bharatanatyam dancer based in Toronto, Canada, showed excellent control over the nritta aspect of the dance. But the abhinaya, apart from being inadequate, over-sanitised the ``Bhoga Tyagesa'' statement, in which all the sringar got lost in the bhakti. The nayika, stricken by the pancha-bana of Kamadeva, also had a tepid depiction in the charanam. There was a reference later to the Neelakantha portrayal in the dance, and whether it fitted into the context here. While the perspective of a guru like Kittappa Pillai has to be respected, one cannot help wondering if the Neelakantha Siva image is not diluting the region-specific flavour of the Tyagesa Siva.

Gopalakrishna Pillai took care of nattuvangam. Vidyashanker Narayana rendered vocal support aided by Chandrasekhar, son of Kittappa Pillai. Ganesh Iyer (mridangam) and T. N. Murthy (flute) completed the orchestra.

Exquisite flavour

It was left to veteran Vyjayantimala Bali to bring out the combined bhakti/sringar vibes of the Bhoga Tyagesa musical line., in a presentation which reached new heights of grace, precision and interpretation. At this age, this dancer in the perfection of line and profile in the dance and the trimness of figure is a role model for all dancers - young and old.

In an inspired rendition, `Bhoga Tyagesa' emerged as a blend of wondrous delight and worship-evoking grandeur. The sancharis in the dance were all Tiruvarur specific - Shakti Peetham, Valmeekinatha, the presiding deity of Mooladhara Kshetra, Siva as the manifestation of Kaala(time) and Breath(svaasa) culminating in the Sahasraara Kamala, the Lord as Veethi Vitanka, the Hamsa connection, Tyagesa enshrined in the heart of Vishnu, and the meditative aspects of Siva. As for the teermanams, they were so full of punch that every nritta interlude evoked warm applause. And then came the sringar thrust contained in the `anubhogam seyya vaa', the erotic expression, persuasive and convincing without ever being anything but dignified.

The love struck heroine battling to avoid the arrows of Manmatha, was also brought out through spirited abhinaya. In fact so strong was the impact of the interpretation that it prompted, from a learned quarter, a question about the dancer being influenced by the Manipuri item `Anangakshep'. The reference here seemed out of place because this item created by Guru Bipin Singh and presented by Darshana Jhaveri is Radha's cry to Manmatha asking if he, in a case of mistaken identity, taking her for Siva, is attacking her in a vengeful mood with his flowered darts. She brings out the unlikely comparison between Siva and Radha. Vyjayanti's slow spun heady dance will be remembered as one of the most evocative interpretations of parts of `Mohamana'.

The dancer disagreed with the change of tempo in the latter half of the varnam, for her experience of training under both Dandayudapani Pillai (who had been a singer for Tata Meenakshi Sundaram) and Kittappa Pillai emphasised the preserving of Kalapramanam and of doing the chauka kala varnams in Adi talam and Roopakam in the same speed even in the charanam - the approach making heavy demands on both mental and physical abilities in holding each moment that much longer in time. Each moment of the varnam and every word was given due representation in Vyjayanti's dance.

Questions about how and when tattumetta was used, of jati arrangements and of the structure of the composition were answered. All the disciples spoke of the freedom given by Kittappa Pillai to improvise within a certain framework. But nobody addressed (which is not to say that it was not uppermost in many minds) the problem of how in the present prolificacy of Bharatanatyam, the trivialising of the varnam, dissociating it from the contextual references to become just an amorphous physical construct, can be halted.

The varnam is an event and not just an item. Kudos to the work force of Prithvi for organising such an event. The published monograph with articles was also well and thoughtfully put together.

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