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A peep into ancient repertoire

Rupa Srikanth

Tapasya and The Mangala Initiative, Canada, organised a two-day symposium recently to explore, discuss and experience some of the disappearing dance compositions.

The future can only take off on the wings of the past, and it is prudent to give it its due. In this context, the Tapasya Kala Sampradaya, headed by Indu Varma, is doing a great service to the art by researching and preserving the repertoire of the hereditary artists of yore. Tapasya, Chennai, together with The Mangala Initiative, Canada, organised a two-day symposium on `Memory, Modernity and Murai' to explore, discuss and experience some of these disappearing compositions.

The seminar was inaugurated by Sri Babaji Rajah Bhonsle Chatrapathy, Senior Prince of Thanjavur. It was followed by the screening of `Marainduvarum Marabugal,' a documentary by the Tapasya team, on the contributions of the traditional families who were the original custodians of music and dance for generations.

Musicologist B. M. Sundaram presented a paper on the `Sadir Kutcheri' in Thanjavur and placed on record, research into the genealogy of the Thanjavur Quartet family. He has traced an ancestor, Gopala Nattuvanar, who lived during the Nayak period. This finding radically alters popular perception that believes the family can be traced only up to the Maratha period, making them perhaps the oldest unbroken living lineage of dance masters in Tamil Nadu.

Indira Viswanathan Peterson, Mount Holyoke College, U.S., spoke on Kuravanji dramas of the Maratha period with special regard to the colonial modernity at the Thanjavur court. She offered brief glimpses of texts like the `Devendra Kuravanji' and the `Mohinivilasa Kuravanji' besides providing excerpts from her translations of `Kuttrala Kuravanji' and `Sarabhendra Bhupala Kuravanji.'

Devesh Soneji of McGill University, Canada, threw light on the devadasi traditions of Coastal Andhra Pradesh with the help of video clippings. He noted the presence of the Thanjavur Quartet compositions in the region from the late 19th century itself. This was illustrated with examples of the `Salam Daru,' dedicated to the Thanjavur kings Pratapasimha and Serfoji III, and the `Pallavi' (Arabhi ragam) from the repertoire of the devadasis.

Sole custodian

P. R. Thilakam being felicitated.

P. R. Thilakam of Tiruvarur first rose to fame because she was the sole custodian of a precious piece of literature, the Tyagesa Kuravanji, traditionally performed by artists from the Kondi paramparai from which she hails. It dates back to the reign of King Shahaji, the second Maratha ruler of Thanjavur. In the past, it used to be performed in the Devasiriya Mandapam over three nights during the Vasantotsavam of the Tyagesa temple. Though the notations of the original composer are not available, Thilakam had in 1971 notated the songs based on the memory of her grandmother, Kamalam's teachings.

The original work contains 65 songs, but an edited version containing 25 songs, the songs being rotated, is staged today. This legacy brought recognition from cultural bodies like the Central Sangeet Natak Akademi and the Tamil Nadu Eyal Isai Nataka Mandram. Thilakam was seized with the problem of finding suitable successors, since her immediate family was not interested in perpetuating the tradition. She has since identified Tapasya, and has trained some of the staff and dancers in the Kuravanji on the two conditions that the music should not be tampered with and that should it should be taught to any family member who maybe interested. After a gap of nearly 100 years, the Tyagesa Kuravanji was restaged in the Mandapam in 2004.

By a happy co-incidence, it was Thilakam's 80th birthday that day. When the felicitations were finished in the evening session, the doyenne took her place onstage to conduct a staging of the Tyagesa Kuravanji with the cast of: Rajamohini (Indu Varma), sakhi (Swetha), kurathi (Vidya Narayanan) and Singan (Sudeesh).

This was perhaps the most interesting session of the symposium, where the staging itself was a throwback to the old times. The informal hall, the makeshift curtains, the antiquated sound system, all contributed unwittingly to the atmosphere. The Kuravanji itself was a panorama of lively music, slowly developing characterisations, simple gestures, graceful movements, and above all, Thilakam's involved rendering.

Each aspect unfolded itself as the story of princess Rajamohini and her love for Tyagesa was brought forth, the kurathi consulted and the reconciliation of the kurathi and the kuravan brought about. Thilakam was ably assisted by Lalitha (vocal), Hari Krishnan (nattuvangam), Ganesh Iyer (mridangam) and Sankaranarayanan (flute).

Rare compositions

The next day was devoted to some rare compositions presented by Pandanallur M. Gopalakrishnan, grandson of Meenakshisundaram Pillai, and K. Chandrasekhar, son of Kittappa Pillai. They sought to take the viewer through a margam, commencing with a Melaprapthi, a Guru Stuthi in Ramamanohari in praise of Raja Rajeshwari written by the Thanjavur Quartet as one of the nine keethanais offered as guru dakshina to Dikshitar, the well-known ashtaragamalika varnam, `Swami Ninne Korinaanura,' excerpts from `Sarabhendra Bhupala Kuravanji' and a Khamas tillana. Shyamala Mohanraj of the Veena Dhanammal school demonstrated padams and javalis sung by Girish, grandson of T. Brinda.

The evening session included demonstrations by Sri Ram and Suresh Krishna, Amsterdam, Hari Krishna, Canada, and Vidya Narayanan, Chicago, students of guru Kittappa Pillai, of items learnt from their guru and preserved intact such as the Suladhi, the Navasandhi Kavuthuvam and the Sambandar Kavuthuvam, amongst others, bringing the curtains down on a comprehensive seminar of dialogue and demonstration.

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