Geometric silhouettes, fluid gestures, and calculated movement seemed to be what drew in an awe-inspired audience to watchfully sit through an entire margam in an evening filled with classical Bharatanatyam splendour.
Dancers in bright colours, bejewelled bodies, and heavy yet intricate makeup took to the stage and gave vibrance to Sri Krishna Gana Sabha Hall in T Nagar between June 19 and 21, during Saptatala Lahari. Curated and composed by researcher and choreographer ‘Kalaimamani’ Madurai R Muralidharan, the three-day festival showcased seven complete Bharatanatyam margams in seven taalams.
Upon the completion of this event, the number of margams conducted by Muralidharan is said to be 26, in each in a different taalam. He claims, “If I execute nine more margams, that is 35, it would be a feat unprecedented in the history of Bharatanatyam. I’d be the first person in the world doing this for the first time.”
Muralidharan admits it is a difficult curation, that involves mathematics, which in turn blends with the arts. “Honestly speaking, I failed in 10th standard maths. Somehow, God makes me do mathematics now,” he quips.
The festival brought together dancers from various cultural and regional backgrounds while also offering emphasised visibility to Bharatanatyam. The setting doubled up as a space for Muralidharan to celebrate another milestone, where he announced the release of his book Varna Madhuryam-Volume 1. It boasts 50 varnams, the first installation of more to come. He notes, “If you talk about all the composers in this dance field, who compose varnams and pada-varnams, they would have composed only 15 to 20. I am (attempting to) creating a record.”
Muralidharan’s works have a global reach with his compositions finding a space in several Indian classical repertoires. While he predominantly composes in Tamil, there is a constant influx of messages from various dancers, speaking other languages, to help them with his compositions, or provide them with translations. This book comes as a solution for these dancers. “People can use it as a manual of sorts where it is easy for everybody to see the notation, the meaning, and also the lyrics,” he says, adding that both professional practitioners and general enthusiasts of Bharatanatyam have something to take away from the text.
Having started his work in this field in his 30s, Muralidharan carries three decades of knowledge that he continues to pass on to the younger generation. “I always have a spark. I have to do something different from others, whatever I do,” he says. He also talks about the role of social media in taking Bharatanatyam across the globe, yet, he rues about the value of technical skill being lost. Whether one is a good dancer or a bad dancer does not seem to matter to the algorithm, he believes. “You cannot see the quality sometimes but they have the followers of 100K and 200K.”
Happy with the response for the festival, Muralidharan is now looking forward to the Malaysia leg of the event as selected winners from this competition will participate in the Malaysia Dance Festival, granting them international exposure and the chance to exhibit their talent on another platform.
‘Varna Madhuryam- Volume 1’ will soon be available for purchase.
