The relationship between a mother and child is time tested and has been fabled in scriptures. The tales of Leelavati and Prahlada, Shakuntala and Bharatha, and Yashoda and Krishna hold up to scrutiny.
Weaving their latest presentation, the group Parashah (alchemist stone in Sanskrit) an acronym of the names of the members, featuring bharatanatyam artistes Roja Kannan, Priya Murle, Srikanth N and Aswathy Srikanth, will present Maatrudevobhava — Divine Mother’.
Roja Kannan says that the stories have been chosen for the show as they signify the irreplaceable role a mother plays in the life of her child. She says, “The stories of these three mothers, who touched the lives of their children, are extraordinary. Be it Leelavati , Yashoda or Shakuntala, all their tales are an account of not just their bond with their children but speak of the impact they had on them, making a huge difference to humanity.”
Priya Murle explains the story of Prahlada and the hardship his mother Leelavati underwent to ensure that he stayed away from the demonic influence of his father, Hiranyakashipu. “There is also the story of Shakuntala who single-handedly raised her son Bharatha, in the absence of her husband Dushyantha. Later, she went on to rule a vast empire for many years,” she adds.
However what makes the show stand out is the fact that each of the artistes belongs to different banis (schools of bharatanatyam). While Roja, a disciple of Adyar Lakshman, belongs to the Kalakshetra school and Priya to the Thanjavur school (trained by Sudha Rani Raghupathy), Srikanth and Aswathy are from the Vazhvoor school of the dance.
The dancers say that despite the differences they are united by the way they look at the art of dance. Srikanth belongs to a family of Bhagavathamela artistes hailing from Thanjavur and is a student of Dr Padma Subrahmanyam. Srikanth’s wife Aswathy, now a disciple of his (Srikanth), says, “The beauty is in the way we present the variety in unison. How you perform depends on one’s individual style.”
Priya however adds, that the collaboration between different banis doesn’t mean there is any compromise. “There is a lot of variation in our performances, but at the same time there is uniformity. We as artistes are united by our interpretation of the art,” she says.
With lyrics by Revathi Shankaran and music by Nandini Sharma, Maathrudevobhava — Divine Mother will be staged at the Music Academy at 6 pm on November 9. All are welcome. For enquiries, contact 9884098453 or 42110194