Poetry in motion
CHENNAI: Tamil poetry, patriotism and feminism.Subramania Bharati popularly called Mahakavi Bharathi or Bharathiyar is revered for his immense contributions as an activist, writer and social reformer. Three artistes joined hands to celebrate his thoughts that holds relevant in the present day through Katha Nrithyam that kept the great poet as its focus.
The new production — that was staged on Thursday at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Mylapore, for Kathik Fine Arts and Friday at Bharat Kalachar — featured storytelling by Isaikavi Ramanan, Bharatanatyam by New Jersey-based Bharatanatyam dancer Ramya Ramnarayan, and music by Rajkumar Bharathi, great-grandson of Bharathiyar.
Recreating Bharati
The two-hour dance discourse weaved a beautiful tapestry of Bharathiyar’s poetry drawing parallels to Sangam literature, Thiruvilaiyadal Puranam, Kamba Ramayanam and contemporary poets through time. It was an exploration through Bharathi’s imagination — his unique connect with poets from both past and present. Each performance was interspersed with Ramanan rendering a few lines from Bharathi’s work that set the theme for the dance performance. The auditorium hall at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan was packed with audience and there was pin-drop silence punctuated with oohs and aahs as they enjoyed the verses of the great poet.
“I’ve been breathing the works of Bharathiyar since the age of 17. I’m a poet and that’s my identity. The thing about Bharathiyar is that the poet himself stands as a tool of comparison for literature works pre and post his era. There were four acts performed today and my favourite was the one that themed on the boldness of a woman called ‘Veera Penmani’ where a mother sends her only dear son to the war by feeding him with patriotism and courage,” said Ramanan.
Unconventional moves
Dance educator and choreographer Ramya visually brought life to the essence and sentiments of the illustrious 20th-century poet. “The three of us have been in talks since January 2019. Bharathi is a vast concept. I was overwhelmed as an artiste as to what would work for a dance recital. Ramanan had 100 things to say out of which I could keep a thing or two in my performance that did not deviate from margam. But there were new elements to the visual storytelling,” said the Bharatanatyam exponent.
The dancer did not opt for traditional Bharathiyar songs on courage or patriotism. She commenced with a pushpanjali, an inaugural piece, celebrating the significance and glory of Tamil and what is set to be a one of a kind display of the many rasas that he has touched upon in his works. As an ode to his work in Tamil, the podium was wrapped with a shawl bearing Tamil alphabets.
“I wanted the presence of my guru Swamimalai Rajarathnam, so the music for varnams and thillana were those preset by him 30 years back for his performance Bharathathil Bharathi. The choreography is new. The rest are composed by Rajkumar Bharathi. I admire his dance sensibility and musicality for dance. There were several edits for pushpanjali and we also worked a lot on our work ‘Veera Penmani’, one of the four acts,” she said.
Bharathiyar continues to inspire artistes across genres to push their artistic boundaries and that makes him one of the most significant and relevant poets even today. The dance recital ended with famous lines by Bharathi towards his love for the mother tongue — Yaamarindha mozhigalile Tamizh mozhi pol inidhaavadhu yengum kaanom (Is there a language as sweet as Tamil known to the mankind?)