BRAHMA GANA SABHA
Theatre of the Lord
LALITHASAI
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‘Siva Swaroopa Thandava Lahari’ was an interesting blend of music, expressions and footwork.
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The dance drama, ‘Siva Swaroopa Thandava Lahari’ by students of Krishnakumari Narendran, was all about Siva, divinity, dance and the bliss one attains while uttering his name or reading about him. It explains the multiple dimensions of
Siva’s thandavam. Songs and texts in Sanskrit and Tamil literary works such as ‘Tirumandiram,’ ‘Tiruvaachakam,’ ‘Sivanandalahari’ and ‘Sivapanchakshara Stotram,’ were well woven into the dance. The slokas that were used in different parts were sensitively portrayed by the artists.
The audience was made to navigate through five scenes. The first unfolded with the sloka ‘Nagendra Haraya,’ Sivapanchakshara Stotram. Nrithya Jagannathan, the main dancer, along with four co-dancers, described the greatness of the Lord and emphasised the importance of the word ‘Namasivaya.’
Swiftly they moved on to describe Him as the teacher in the form of Dakshinamurthy. Nrithya aptly illustrated the reason for sitting under a banyan tree. With all seriousness of the imagery she went through slokas from ‘Tirumandiram’ and ‘Tiruvachagam.’ But the other dancers in the scene did not match her emotions or grace. Adisankara’s ‘Sivanandalahari’ was introduced with a lot of jatis and emoted well by the group. Interestingly the scene had two stories. The first one was about devas and asuras churning the ocean to get nectar. If Parvathi had been more expressive while stopping Siva from drinking the poison, it would have added more impact to the scene. The next was about the ‘Sandhyakala Pradhosha Thandavam’ where Siva was metaphorically pictured as a peacock and Sakti as a peahen.
Ravana’s ‘Garvabhangam’ was a visual delight. The role suited Divya Sachitanandam very well. With stunning costume and gait of a rakshasa, she was easily the cynosure of all eyes. Divya Senthilkumar as Nandi matched her talent in a duel between them (when Ravana tried to enter the abode of Lord Siva). One could actually see the creases of pain on Divya Sachitanandam’s face when, livid because of the the atrocities committed by Ravana, Lord Siva pressed the mountain down on him. Similarly the sigh of relief was also evident when the heavy weight of the mountain was off her shoulders.
The fifth and final scene told us the story of Adiseshan taking the form of Saint Pathanjali. Through snake-like movements Krishnakumari’s choreography showed the various yogic forms of the saint. It also had some funny episodes when Mahavishnu (Remya) and Siva (Shobana) tried to lure the saints, and their wives, at Tarakavanam. There was a deluge of animals such as tiger, elephant, deer and snakes which rushed in when the saints conjured them up to attack Lord Siva. But the fight between the animals and the Lord lacked depth.
The padam, ‘Nadanam Aadinar’ (Vasantha), introduced at this point was apt. Stiffer arm movements and araimandi would have lent better appeal. Nrithya proved that she has a good understanding of the navarasas as she moved across each of the five scenes as Lord Siva. The presentation in toto was cohesive and the choreography by Krishnakumari Narendran was remarkable.
Music was scored by Rajesh Vaidya. Vocal support was given by Dr. Narayanan and Gayathri Girish.
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