Nayaki...A Poetic Journey

â€œHe played softly the Pann Naivalm, darting furtive glances at me. Then feigning shyness he made passes through songs. In a trice my eyes and my heart ran and fell at his feet. My bangles loosened, my waist band fell . His fish like earrings and his four shoulders loomed large before me. â€œHow far away is my lordâ€™s abode,â€ I asked. â€œIs this not my beautiful Tiruvali?â€ he said in reply. Parakala Nayaki, the love lorn maiden tells her friend about her meeting with her beloved. This is a translation of a poem from the text Thiru Nedunthandakam by the mystic poet Thirumangai Alwar. (From The Sacred Book by Srirama Bharati)

â€œNayakiâ€ the dance production is based on these intense love poems of this saint poet. The poems are passionate and philosophical depicting the longing of the individual soul for the union with the supreme.

Traveling from place to place, from temple to temple, Thirumangai Azhwar composed exceedingly beautiful poetry to his Divine Beloved, Vishnu/Narayana, as an expression of his love for Him.Alvar means one who is "immersed" in the experience of God, the omnipresent mysterious one. Thirumangai Alvar is the last of the 12 Alvars. The twelve Alvars flourished in south India somewhere between the fifth and ninth centuries of the first millennium. The Bhakthi movement in India got a great boost from their Tamil hymns, which are profound and spontaneous outpourings of their bhagavath anubhavam (the enjoyment of the Divine being). Their hymns add up to 4000 in number and are revered as "the sacred collect -Dhivya Prabhandham, sparking a renewal of devotional worship throughout India.

The agony and the ecstasy of parakala Nayaki a persona that Thirumangai azhwar assumes to express his love and longing for his beloved Narayana is the core of â€œ Nayaki â€“ The dance production- A poetic journey.

The music for this production is composed by Rajkumar Bharathi . The research help and inspiration comes from the lectures of Velukkudi Krishnan Swamy of Chennai India.

Jothi Raghavan â€“ the Dancer

Jothi Raghavan , is no stranger to the world of Bharatha Natyam. Recognized as one of the best in the field Jothi is a master Bharatha Natyam dancer/teacher /choreographer. She is a highly trained professional Bharatha Natyam dancer. Bharatha Natyam, an ancient dance form known for its beauty, grace and elegance is the most popular classical dance style of India . Jothi Raghavan has performed extensively in India and the United States . As a performer and choreographer she has received many awards, which includes the prestigious Choreographers Fellowship fro m The National Endowment for the Arts. Jothi Raghavan has been training students in Bharatha Natyam since 1977 in her school Nrityanjali. The dancers trained under Raghavan become highly proficient in the art form, go on to performing with Jothi Raghavan in her concerts. Exploration India â€“ a pet project of Jothi Raghavan has received enthusiastic support from Art councils, schools (K-12) and Girl Scout groups. As the artistic director of The Academy of Indian Performing Arts that she founded in 1987 she has brought high quality productions to Massachusetts and thereby developing an educated audience, in the community. These exhibitions o f talent have also kindled a keen interest in the growing younger generation, to learn and to appreciate this ancient dance form. Her annual visits to India help her to keep abreast of the changing cultural and artistic trends there. This helps her to maintain high standards in her productions. She believes that, for the Indian art forms to survive in this distant land, the younger generation has to be educated not only in the art form but also in the discipline it calls for. While preserving the artistry and heritage of Indian culture and the integrity of the art forms, her artistic vision is to go beyond that. To broaden the horizon, explore other avenues, to grow like the great Banyan tree of India with branches that reach out to other cultures, to promote a universal understanding. Please visit www.indi a n performingarts.org for more details.