Dedication to Divinity!

On the evening of 22nd March, 2019, New England audience were in for a rare visual treat – Guruguho, a marvelous “music in motion” program by Jeyanthi Ghatraju, Founder of Natyanjali (Westford, MA), paying oblations to Sri Muthuswamy Dikshitar. It was nruthyam (dance) adoring naadham (music) through five emphatic compositions enriched with all essentials of an elite recital. The highlight was that each number connoted to a glorifying historic conviction.

A background highlight on the composer may infuse interest about the program. Among the esteemed musical trinity, Sri Dikshitar was unique in that he was an “all-rounder”. Having been born into a music family in Tiruvarur, Tamilnadu, he was widely travelled, highly proficient in Sanskrit and Telugu, adept in Manipravalam, Yoga, Astrology, and Philosophy, in addition to Carnatic music. And, one could see the influence of these greatly highlighted in his compositions. Another striking observation is that each of the composition carries a vivid description of the locality, specialty of the deity and temple along with rich and subtle nuances of musicality and lyrics. 

In addition, Sri Dikshitar enjoyed a good repertoire with the dancing community. On his return to Thiruvarur from his sojourn in the North he was invited to Thanjavur by four brothers to teach them the fundamentals of the 72 Mela Kartha traditions. In gratitude the students, who later rose to fame as the Thanjavur Quartet, composed Navaratnamala -nine songs glorifying their Guru. Besides, in Thiruvarur, one of his students was a temple dancer dedicated to the temple. He was a rare composer whose work had group themes, such as Navagraha krithis, nottuswarams, and Navavarna krithis.

The second item was Ardhanareeshwaram in ragam Kumudhakriya. Ardhanareeshwara represents the synthesis of masculine and feminine energies of the universe (Purusha and Prakruti), thus illustrating the equality of male and female concepts. The symbolic form -Ardhanareeshwara, is the principal deity of Sri Kaliasanathar temple at Tiruchengode, South India and the special highlight is the midnight Alankaram and pooja. In this item, the dancer's movements depicting Shiva (male) and Parvathi (female) were quite distinct and the depth with which her expressions conveyed the powerful emotions were quite a revelation of the dancer’s expertise. This was highlighted by several audience members during the interactive session at the end of the program.

Third in the agenda was 'Suryamurthe Namosthuthe' adoring the Sun God in ragam Sourashtram set to special tala, Chatusra dhruvam (14 beats) .This has special significance in that it formed part of the Navagraha krithis the composer was inspired to compose to heel an ailing disciple. This first one in this series was Bruhaspathe on Jupiter that Dikshitar went on to extend his adoration for the nine planets/navagrahas in his Navagraha krithis. As the composition holds much variety, Jeyanthi seized every bit of it to make the rendition quite reverboratory. Indeed she portrayed the entire gamut of human activities revolving around Sun, from agriculture to physical and mental healing with her gestures of yoga/Sun Salutation – quite educational and informative along with amusement to the audience! 

The concluding item – Nottuswarams, a novel concept unheard of during Sri Dikshitar’s time period. Nottswarams are a body of compositions based on original Western melodies and Sanskrit text - a symphony transformation so to say. The special features of this genre are the unique dimension of creativity and a trend setter to explore the cultural unanimity in the prevailing cultural confluence. These are also pointers to a relatively less spoken aspect of the cultural interaction during the rule of the East India Company in India. Jeyanthi was at ease in bringing out the beautiful twists and turns in the melodic passages set in different rhythmic tempos of three’s and four’s, to the enthralling amusement of the audience. 

Another key aspect of this presentation is also that it was a fund raiser/homage program for an accomplished musician, Sri Muruganandam, who passed away in Chennai at a young age recently. The entire team of Spandha, and the audience, along with Jeyanthi, paid their respects to him generously and the proceeds from the performance is being donated to the family!

At the end of the program, the floor was set open for comments and discussions from the audience. What was heart-warming was to see how some of the dedicated students (thanks to Guru Suman) took down notes and shared with the audience, quite the test for the dancer! And, the dancer passed with flying colors, as the following aspects - having depth to the presentation, focus on clean postures and hand movements, crisp foot work, portraying deep and subtle emotions, good physical balance, creativity in choreography and good stamina / engaging with audience introducing every item personally, were all highlighted for the high marks!

Over all the program was pragmatic, enlightening and educational along with entertainment, setting a positive and challenging trend for future envisages! Kudos to the organizer, Suman Adisesh, the entire Spandha family and the performer, Jeyanthi Ghatraju, with the hope of witnessing more such trend setters! 

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