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Story well visualised
RUPA SRIKANTH
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Narration and nritta found a fine balance in Thiruvilaiyadal, choreographed by Ambica Buch.
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LIVELY: Scenes from Thiruvilaiyadal. Photo: S.R. Raghunathan
The Kalakshetra flavour was predominant in “Thiruvilaiyadal,” a dance performance presented in memory of S. Viswanathan, founder, Kalamandir Trust. Not surprising, the production having been choreographed and directed by Ambika Buch, emin
ent former faculty member of that institution. After having spent more than forty years with Kalakshetra, Ambika now is currently helping post-graduate dance students at the University of Madras.
From the dance style to the choreography and to the visualisation, one could see the ‘Rukmini Devi’ touch in many facets. “Thiruvilaiyadal,’ was a well-thought out presentation that struck a fine balance between a smooth narrative and enlivening nritta sequences.
“Pittukku man sumandha kathai” is one of the 64 miracles contained in the Tiruvilaiyadal Puranam written by Paranjothi Munivar and refers to the well-known story of how Siva appears as a labourer to help an old woman, Vanthi, and teaches the Pandya king a lesson.
From the Puranam
The text was taken from the Puranam as well as Paripadal with the help of Prof. Raghuraman. The music composition was by Bhagavatulu Seetharama Sharma with the folk tunes provided by Thuraiyur Rajagopala Sharma. The skilful musicians that evening were: Ambika (nattuvangam), Radha Badri and Hema Sethuraman (vocal), Adyar Gopinath (mridangam), T.K.Padmanabhan (violin), Muthukumar (flute) and Baba Prasad (tabla).
Simple but effective role play was the norm. Despite the inherent theatrics in the occasional dialogue, it did not take away from the dignity of the production. The lead roles were played by Haripadman as Siva, Radhika as Vanthi and Gopu Kiran as the king.
Siva’s indolence and subterfuge drew an endearing picture of the all-knowing Supreme.
Most impressive however was the visualisation of the Vaigai where dancers in light green and blue were bathed crosswise in eerie blue footlights.
While the quick-silver movements brought out graphically the energy of the river, the accompanying Hamsadhwani captured its flow.
Building the bund was visually appealing. The group was well synchronised and the kummi in Charukesi following the chore was enjoyable.
There were, however, some flaws in the lighting and in the production standards. Especially distracting was the light behind the stage that illuminated the area when the stage lights were off. The confusion at the start of some scenes was another distracting element. “Thiruvilaiyadal” would glitter if these factors are ironed out.
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Friday Review
Bangalore
Chennai and Tamil Nadu
Delhi
Hyderabad
Thiruvananthapuram
|
