The Statesman, Delhi , 27April,2001 SUBBUDU SAYS…… A touch of novelty Mr. Muralidharan, whosoever he is, deserves the warmest praise for ushering a new era in composing 'varnams' for the Bharathanatyam repertoire with new themes and in a slightly different format encompassing varied rhythmic cycles with matching lyrics. Hitherto, all 'varnams' were entering around the off-repeated theme, namely the heroine pining for the company of her beloved so much so that Bharatanatyam dances was becoming stale. These thoughts came to my mind witnessing Priya Sundaresan's dance recital held under the auspices of Sur Tall, the cultural wing of the NDMC.The varnam 'Konchum Salangai" in raga Lathangi, describes the attitude and attributes of Lord Shiva with innumerable sequences. It is almost a mini ballet and can even be choreographed for the full length ballet.The speciality of this varnam is that the lyrics are so composed to admit of graceful postures and meaningful abhinaya. T. R. Subramanyam Says …. Musician and MusicologistI wish to hereby commend Sri. Madurai R. Muralidharan as a dancer of high accomplishments. Besides being a wellknown performing artiste and teacher, he is also a composer of high merit. I heard his pada varnams and thillanas in the 35 talas and I was profoundly impressed by them. Mr. Muralidharan is an youngster of high innovative talent. I wish him all success. Dr. M. Balamurali Krishna says… Padmavibhushan National Citizen 16 May -2001 I know Shri. Madurai. R. Muralidaran, a well known accomplished dance exponent-cum-musicologist, for several years and I have witnessed his Dance Drama "Kamba Ramayanam" recently. It was a splendid presentation on all counts.He is an excellent composer, especially for Bharatha Natyam Dance field. It is not an easy joke to compose Padha Varnams for Dance. He has composed Varnams, Thillanas and Alarippus in all the 35 Talas which is very rare and complicated to handle. I could see his hard work and dedication in his compositions, lyric wise, rhythm wise, tune wise and I must appreciate Shri. Muralidaran for his praise worth contribution to the art field and I wish him all success for the bright future. Sangeetha Siromani, Natyacharya M. V. Narasimhachri I Know Mr.Muralidharan for several years and I have been seeing his progress and achievements. He has bloomed into a full-fledged artist in all respects. His hard work and thirst for knowledge have brought him to the forefront in the field of dance. His knowledge of Bharatanatyam is considerable and is not easily matched by other dancers in the field. He is a lyricist, music composer, choreographer, performer, singer, nattuvanar and a sincere teacher. His compositions for the dance repertoire like varnams, padams, thillanas and so on are valuable contributions to the field of Bharathanatyam. His dance dramas are a veritable delight to watch and have brought him accolades.Despite his many talents he is a very humble and dignified person who accepts suggestions and criticism with an open mind and is ever willing to improve.I am sure he will be an asset to any institution he visits and will give his best for the cause of this great art. May the Lord Nataraja bestow on him all success and happiness. The Hindu february 8, 2002 Smt. Nandhini Ramani SAYS…. Madurai Muralidharan is a dancer, teacher and versatile composer, who is probably the first to compose in 35 Talas, many items for a Bharatanatyam repertoire. "Kolahala Ganapati", describing the joyful and auspicious dancing Vinayaka had interesting sequences to incorporate certain thoughtful rhythmical aspects to denote the dance of the Lord.Medha presented these details with utmost ease. "Konjum Sadangai", a compostion of Madurai.R. Muralidaran centring around the glory of the Lord of Dance was the other lively piece that brought forth the astonishing skill for precision. City Express July 28,2001 R Srinivasan of Indian Express says… Muralidharan has broken new ground in the field of Bharathanatyam. He has composed padavarnams in all the known 35 taalas, a unique feat not hitherto achieved by any in this field. He points out: "Till now Natyapadavarnams have only portrayed the Nayikabhava stressing the state of acute, anguished, erotic expectancy of the female lover yearning for immediate union with her beloved, from whom she had been separated for an inordinately prolonged period (Vipralamba). "The architectonic structure of Natya pada Varnams depends solely on the multilevel layers of the composition theme, specially in terms of Sringara-Bhakti relationship (erotic devotion) against the background of unrequited love. The stress would invariably be on the Nayika - the woman, experiencing the pangs of separation. Every second of separation would be unbearable, excruciating agony for her.There is an allegorical content here. Every human being, male or female, has to deem himself or herself as a lover hungering for merger with the Lord - the Nayaka - the only universal male, the symbolic union of the Jivatama with the Paramatma.All the Alwars, Nayanmars, Sufis and other devout souls have only adopted this female role. It is necessary corollary that padavarnams portraying such vipralamba situations have so far generally relied on limited taalas implying restricted scope. Muralidharan has dared to experiment with the male as the central figure. It is his contention that the male also pines for his lady-love, from whom he has been separated by circumstances. The perfect example is Rama pining for Sita in the Dandaka forests. He has therefore composed padavarnams in all known taalas, that is 35 of them. Just to enable the male dancer depict vipralamba equally graphically and most acceptably. "The doors of Bharathanatya would naturally open more widely", is his point. It is against this kind of revolutionary background the Murali's much-lauded innovative efforts have assumed pioneering potential and welcome promise that deserve meaningful encouragement. He has also composed Thilaanas and Alaripus in all the taalas, a rare and intricate effort lyric-rhythm tune content-wise as all these variations supplement traditional techniques. Muralidharan has choreographed successfully a number of splendid dance dramas - Kamba ramayanam, Anarkali, Nammalvar, Tulukka Naachhiyaar (Muslim lady devotee), Thirumangai Alwar and Kuraloviyam.He is a committed teacher as well. He and his wife Chitra have trained dozens of students in Bharathanatyam. In dance, the human body is the instrument that reveals picturesquely the intrinsic merit of the theme and the presenter. Muralidharan's state-of-the-art body is an ideal treasure house that stores and displays the abiding colourful nuances of Bharata's Naatya Shastra. Widely travelled in India and abroad, Muralidharan, who has made, according to Subbudu and Dr. Balamuralikrishna, significantly praiseworthy contributions in the art field, waits hopefully for worthwhile opportunities and recognition. V. P. Dhananjayan Says... (Bharatakalanjali) Madurai Muralidharan is a very talented Bharatanaatyam dancer and teacher. To be honest, Muralidharan is one of the best and versatile artists of the younger generations; he is not only a good male dancer, but a poet, musician and music composer. His contributions of music compositions to the Bharatanaatyam repertoire are highly commendable. I have recommended his compositions to many Bharatanatyam dancers looking for compositions. Since he is a dancer himself, the ideas portrayed in the lyrical contents are appropriate for expressing dramatic exposition of "sanchari bhaavas". He needs to be encouraged by connoisseurs and due recognition given to him for his immense talent, both as a dancer and teacher. I hope and pray that the days are not too far, for him to receive the due accolades from our art and cultural organisations.

Dear Mr. Muralidaran,

I am very happy to hear about your latest project . In
all aspects i am very happy about your compositions.
Since here the community is multi lingiual....It would
be helpful if you can add other language compositions
mainly Sanskrit,kannada,hindi and telugu.This would
enable a wider spectrum of audience and learners.
This would help bharatanatyam to communicate with
everybody. I hope you would understand my point.
Congratulations on your new project. I spoke before
with your wife when she was expecting.
Hope everything went well.
Thank you,
Ushashree Devaraju
- USA

_______________________________________________________________________
Respected Sir,

I appreciate you and your wife being so flexible so
the CD's could be brought to my friend. I am very
happy with the CD's . How come your music is not that
known in Europe, as it is of such a good quality and
you have made so many CD's. There is a website called
www.dutchskydancer.nl where all classical dance
schools are registered. You will also find my name
there with the groupname of Nawa Rasa Dancing. On that
website there is a link to that of Kutcheribuzz, but I
wonder wether the people here can reach you easily. If
you want I can send the schools how they can approach
you( as I have done) and hopefully for you that will
contact you. A lot of people from Holland go to Madras
to have dancing classes or doing the Arangetram as
Bharatanatyam is very popular. Regards to you and your
wife,
Mita Ramkhelawan
_______________________________________________________________________

I live in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. I try to come to
Chennai every year for 3-4 weeks to catch the
December (Margalizhi) season. Are you located in
Chennai. I have the Nrithyopasana
Collections of Vol 10 and love the Ragamalikai
Varnam, Gaanam Isaindhu Nindrayo? The Nattuvangam,
music lyrics are absolutely stunning.

I'm listening to them now, one by one. What a treat.
I never heard of half of the items that you mentioned
nor the ragas nor the talas. But that shoud l not be difficult to
comprehend because I had no training in music theory.
One curiosity, why no jathiswarams? I wish I could
spend some time with your group and learn about the
science of Bharata Natyam.

Vishnu Priya
_______________________________________________________________________
Sat, 05 Mar 2005

Madurai R Muralidharan's padavarnam in Suddha
Dhanyasi, Aadum Mayil Mel Varuvaan, made its Malaysian
debut today at the Bharatha Natya Arangetram of Vidyah & Pavallam Sivakumar, disciples of Srimathi Dr Amirtha Devi Sakathevan. Vocals were rendered by Mangalam Sankar,
accompanied by Thamaraikudy K R Vijayakumar on the
mridangam, Vijayalakshmi Kulaveerasingam on the violin,
Jeyalakshmi Sekhar on the veena and A Perambalam on the
flute with the guru performing
nattuvangam. Among the guests was Dr Chandrabanu, the
Malaysian now based in Melbourne.

Dear Mr.Murali,

How was your trip to the USA? Are you coming to
Malaysia in the near future? I hope you will take
steps to publish all your works into book form. I, for
one, would like to have a copy.

Purvashada
__________________________________________________________________________________

A group of dancers in Wisconsin US were very happy to
see your post to the Bharata Natyam mailing list.
We have in the past only been able to
find your CDs in Chennai.

I was very intrigued to read about allaripu in 35
Talam!
I was disappointed to see that there does not yet
exist a CD with these 35 allaripus - it would be very
instructional.
Might you be publishing such a CD soon?
In addition, my guru suggests:

A vcd with "Nattuvangam: Essential Techniques" would
be a nice
addition.

__________________________________________________________________________________

I am a student of Guru Mahalingam Pillai and later
Adyar Sir's.
I have a dance school. It is a mobile unit. In the
true sense. I go to various cities every day of the
week and teach about 8 to 10 students.

I have been at awe with your compositions because of
its excellent rhythm quality I also want to dance the
right way.. Learn from you!! The last time I was in
Madras in 98 for my daughter's marriage there was a
marriage in your family as well so I lost the
opportunity. I have a few of your tapes but I would
like to learn your compositions the way you visualize
it. If you have video representations too I am willing
to learn from them (If this is possible) I am SERIOUS.

I am also fifty years old but am able to dance (of
course with difficulty), I am a fast learner and Need
to learn this for ME as I do not know of anyone who
will willingly teach selflessly.

THANKS FOR YOUR IMMEDIATE CONCERN.

Geeta karkera!!!

__________________________________________________________________________________

Dear Muralidaran.

I need audio tapes CDs. All of them! as soon as
possible.
I have had the privilige of listening to them on and
off and am amazed at the accurancy of rhythm but have
been unlucky getting all of them. Please let me know
if you need a check for the same and for how much?
Will you be able to teach the items

Sujatha -USA
__________________________________________________________________________________
Dear Shri Murali:
How are you and thanks for writing. Your
'Shantaakaaram' sounds as wonderful to listen to here
as it did at the studio! Ihad wanted to to use it for
a special appearance at an event to commemorate Ustad
Allarakha by his son Ustad Zakir Husain and his
brothers and sister at the Queen Elizabeth Hall here
on April 28th as the opening number for March 8th has
been changed.

Chithra Sundaran-UK
_______________________________________________________________________

<vaishali_chaudhuri@yahoo.co.in>

Hello Mr. Muralidaran,

How are you. Did you get a flier that I forwarded to
you?..When are you coming to US....I have shelved
doing the Mahalakshmi Varnam bcoz it really needs
time to break up the beats into 13 in the
Jathis...however I am trying out more simpler items..
Bye,
Regards,
Vaishali
-New York
_______________________________________________________________________

I am really enjoying your compositions. Its giving me
joy whenever I hear it. It would be extremely helpful
if you could record for me some more items and send it
to me...I would love to learn and perform them and may
be I can perform one of the items in the sept programs
itself. It would be an honour to have you as a chief
guest in our program and I can even put it in the
program book. Really looking forward to learn your
items and hear from you sir and will hope to get a
chance to see you.

With regards,
Pamela Siva Manalan
PA 18103
USA
_______________________________________________________________________

Dear Shri Muralidharan

You have indeed enriched the Bharata Natya repertoire
with you magnificent compositions judging from the
variety and quantity of productions. I am also an old
timer in the field of Bharata Natyam having dedicated
an entire lifetime to it. I live in Michigan and run
the Hindu Temple Rhythms Institute here.

Good Music
has always been a major problem for dancers wherever
they are in the world. A few of us who have family
members supporting us often find it difficult as they
also have their jobs, and families to take care of.
Distances are also far and wide and getting together
for practices is always a major issue. Many dancers,
especially the younger ones prefer to use tapes, and
cd's. So you have given us all an opportunity to
present good programmes. I know I have not heard any
of your compositions but look forward to hear a fellow
artist and enjoy his offerings.

Therefore, I would like to purchase your entire CD collection .
Would you please let me know the cost involved so that I can
send you the appropriate amount. Also let me know how
I can reach you the check or MO. My web site is at
www.hindutemplerhythms.com
http://www.hindutemplerhythms.com.
I applaud your enthusiasm for the arts, your innate talent and
versatility, and your openness in sharing all this
God-given talent with the rest of the world. God
Bless you and yours.


Radhe Krishna!
Sudha Chandrasekhar
, Michigan
48237.
_______________________________________________________________________

Dear Sir,
I would like to thank you for your kind and
quick response. It is extremely nice to know that we
are dealing with people genuinely interested and
dedicated to this divine Fine Art.
I i shall certainly pursue all your future works also
with keen interest. However, I would like to invite your immediate
attention to your works with Coutrallam Nagarajan.
If you could kindly send me the list of such works i can
arrange for its collection. Also, in addition to that
i would like to have your jathiswarams and allarippu
as well. I was interested about the CD-ROM. does it
contain text or is it an audio visual design? There is
another query which I have.

This is regarding your goodself. Do you do programs
( Dance Katcheris ) if so is there any schedule of the same?
Please do inform me
as to all of the above so that i can accordingly
arrange myself. Regards, Adv. Sujatha Ganesh.

I have done lots of programs in Malaysia and recently
last year I came to USA and its was a whole lot of
difference. To get an opportunity to perform is tough
but i'm slowly trying to grow here.I've started
teaching here in my area and also am part of
Shubanjali School of performing Arts and have been
participating in their productions too.
I've learnt so many items but was never given cassettes
to record so i was unable to perform here and since your cassettes
have some of the items i learnt , can I use them to
perform and if you have video tapes that goes along
with the audio where I can learn from it would really
be wonderful for me.I would appreciate all the support
I can get in order to grow in this field and If you
are ever in Pennsylvania especially this october I'm
planning to do a program here in Pennsylvania. This
recital is to help other young upcoming artist like me
to have the opportunity to perform, to share and
exchange and learn what more from one another and to
bring awarness to the indian community around my area.
Thank you so much and hope to hear from you.

Take care
Pamela Siva Manalan
Website : www.geocities.com/pamelasiva
_______________________________________________________________________

Dear Sir,

At the outset let me introduce myself as a lawyer
with a deep interest in clasical dance / songs. on
browsing through the net I was pleased to discover
the awesome amount of work you have contributed to
this field. I would like to mention here that of
particular interest was your special work with
coutrallam Sree Nagarajan. I now approach you to
kindly let me know where i can procure all of your
such collections. I am anticpating your early
response. I shall arrange for collection of the
material from Madras at your convinence.

Thanking you in advance.
Adv. Sujatha ganesh.

______________________________________________________________________

Dear Mr Muralidaran,

Namaskaram. I am Vidya Venkataramani a Disciple of
Kanaka Srinivasan ( New Delhi) and S.K Rajaratnam.
I live in Akron Ohio and teach dance
here. I was very happy and delighted to see all the
tapes you have come up with. It is very helpfully to
all the dancers especially to the once
like me abroad. Your new series Salandai Natham was even
more delightful as they are your composition and all new items.
I was interested to know the words and meaning of
the Varnam on Lord Dakshinamoorthy and the Pushpanjali in
Vol- 3 which I
just heard. Is
there a book in English that you have published on the
series, that I am not aware off. Please E-mail me back if so,
and I will get the book. I would be interested to also know if there is a book consisting of all the songs from your other series
"Nrityopasana" that I can keep to refer in English.

I am so glad you have decided to share this unique
talent with this world filled of Bharatanatyam dancers,
who look forward to
your new CD's.

Thank you
Vidya

Reviews from all over the world column.