In the central courtyard of the Ratnam bungalow (on Chennai’s Cenotaph Road) where dancer, choreographer, curator, collaborator and cultural activist, Dr Anita Ratnam lives, every morning, for the last two weeks or so, the spirit of Andal has been making its appearance. The female saint poet from a small town in Tamil Nadu who went on to attain the status of a goddess, and who is among Anita’s most favourite women, will find expression in Andal, an hour-long Bharatanatyam performance (on December 21) that will explore and extrapolate the essence of Andal; the six scenes in the creation will bring alive Andal’s poetry and life, the hallmarks of which are grace, gumption and passion.
Most importantly though, Andal Andal marks the return of the Ratnam sisters — Anita and Pritha — on stage, together. “We stopped dancing together sometime in 1978,” Anita remembers, with obvious nostalgia, “Then, sometime between 1990 and 1996, we danced together, intermittently. This year, we decided to create Andal Andal as homage to our late mother, Leela, and for the years she poured into our training as performing artistes. This is really for her, her spirit, of devotion, doggedness, determination.” It is also, in a way, a tribute to themselves — as women in their fifties, who continue to multi-task beautifully; stay fit and keep composure as working women. Pritha is the Joint Managing Director of Sundaram Industries Ltd in Chennai. Their 96-year-old maternal grandmother, Saraswati, will be at the performance.
From a content perspective, Andal, needless to say, is a subject that best fits the bill. “Andal has shadowed me all my life, both from a personal point of view as well as on stage,” Anita says, “Born in a conservative family way back in the eighth century, I’m constantly fascinated with how she stood her ground for what she believed in.” It is Andal’s obsession, fanaticism, singularity of purpose that forms the text for Andal Andal that is a voyage into the saint poet’s inner and outer worlds. “What you’ll see in this presentation,” Pritha explains, “is two Andals. The inner Andal is conflicted, depressed, fiery, spirited, raging,
fuming; the outer is obedient, calm and dutiful.” In the work that is, by the way, still in progress, Anita represents the inner while Pritha is a manifestation of Andal’s outer world. The work has the potential to come alive also because of this fabulous contrast that is obviously apparent in their personalities — “I am the dreamy one,” Anita, who is wearing the choreographer’s hat, says, “Pritha is obedient; she is listening and following me.” Hues and shades of the heroine will be explored in the work through a seamless string of solo movements and moments of togetherness woven aesthetically, almost like a garland. In Anita’s scheme of things, performance has always been more than the mere dance. “Stage and costume design by Rex, direction by Hari Krishnan, vocals by Sharanya Krishnan, nattuvangam by L Subhasri, multi-percussion by N K Keshavan, technical direction by Victor and prayer chants by Pradeep Chakravarthy along with other theatrical interventions come together to create a 360 degree experience of Andal and her world. I’m also toying with the idea of having a few ritual conch temple artistes from our ancestral village in Tirukurungudi in Tirunelveli district,” Anita says.
From a performance point of view, Andal Andal is also a detour of sorts for Anita from her solo explorations. “Of course it is challenging,” she admits, “Dancing with someone calls for a great deal of coordination. Plus, I’m returning to Bharatanatyam after years; my body has changed a great deal.” Pritha adds, “For a long time, I was a reluctant dancer. Then, sometime in the mid 80s, I re-discovered my love for it.”
The stimulus for this creation is undoubtedly its subject. Andal incidentally also inspired the content for Mad and Divine, an international dance conference and performance event that will explore the magnificent poetry of female poet saints of India. Curated by Anita and produced by Kartik Fine Arts for an annual seminar called Natya Darshan between December 21 and December 25, Andal Andal will set the ball rolling for the performance.