“Jothi Raghavan transported even an un-initiated individual like me into a special state of awareness.” Reflecting on why this was so, I attribute it to Jothi being adept at ‘Hermeneutics’, which  includes the entire framework of the interpretive process encompassing all forms of communication and expression; written, verbal, artistic, physiological, sociological etc. A hermeneutic refers to one particular method or strand of interpretation.   I felt that, ‘Krishna Thrishna’ showed me the practice of interpretation in its exquisite form.

Jothi’s portrayal of Nammazhwar exemplifies Bhakti Yoga.  Bhakti Yoga being one of the six Yogas (Hatha, Raja, Bhakti, Jnana, Kriya, and Karma) is the Yoga of selfless love, compassion, humility, purity and the desire and serious intention to merge with God. Portraying the ‘Journey and Union of Atma with the Paramatma’ is not a task one can imagine.  Jothi conceived, choreographed, and provided a live recitation of the crucial poems in Tamil, English and Sanskrit, while performing the dance on stage, all as if it was just a part of her. The performance was in three scenes:   Introduction of Nammazhwar, Parankusa Nayaki, and Azhwar’s Charanagathi.

Jothi was ably accompanied on stage by several young Bharat Natyam artists trained under her tutelage: Mamtha Raj, Manasa Jayanthi, Neha Kumar, Lekha Nair, Prashanthi Sivasithambaram, Suhasini Aravinthan, Ramya Ragupathy and Bhavan Chalupadi. Music Composition by Rajkumar Bharati was brought to life on stage. The live orchestra made the whole event memorable and immensely enjoyable: Vocal by G. Srikanth, Mridangam by B. P. Haribabu, Flute by Vivek Venugopalakrishna, and Veena by Revathi Ramaswamy. All together, amazing talent and devotion were on display at the Littleton High School auditorium on the evening of September 18, enthralling and enchanting hundreds of local area patrons of the Arts.

Perhaps one explanation for Jothi’s excellence on stage and off may be gleamed from Jothi’s homage to her Guru Late Sri Swamimalai Rajarathnam:  ”He was the embodiment of patience. He brought out the best in every one of his students. We are what we are because of him. Extraordinary musician, who was also gifted in doing Nattuvangam and was compared to Nandi (who does Nattuvangam for Lord Siva's dance).”

To top it all off, the performance was to benefit a charitable and worthy cause. 100% of the proceeds went to support charitable project(s) by AASAI (American Association for the Social Advancement of India), a non-profit organization involved in helping the poor and under-privileged in India. AASAI is involved in supporting several charitable projects in India in the areas of Child Welfare and Education, Health Services for the poor, Home and Welfare for women and the elderly.

It was a memorable experience to actually imagine what it might feel like when the eternal bliss of ‘Sangam of the Atma with the Paramatma’ is imminent. It brought the audience to its feet.

Audience Comments:
“Your admiration for the Azhwar really came through!” “Amazing performance!!!” “ You were mesmerizing!” “You were awesome. I came out of the show feeling enlightened. As usual your choreography was fantastic.” “…very difficult concept to bring to the dance world, but you did it so beautifully! Loved the brief explanations followed by the dances.” “Superb Job Jothi. We Bostonians are very lucky to enjoy your creativity and ever-lasting smile and devotion to the art! We will always remember this day.” “Absolutely would like to commend AASAI. The projects they support and the way they do it is really amazing! Very well thought out. Very well done! God bless this wonderful couple.”

Artist's Comments:
During practice for the event: “I am in Krishna Bliss. RKB's music and Srikanth's voice! Can't beat that.” After the event:  “The energy was superb. I had such a great time. I think this was one of the best experiences I have had. Krishna Thrishna - thirst for Krishna really came through.Thanks for sharing this amazing journey with me.”

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