'The Sands of Thiruvaiyaru', a musical play on the life of Thyagaraja was staged in Dallas on March 28, 2004. This was produced by 'Exressions' and Indian Fine Arts Academy of Dallas - Fort Worth was the sponsor of this programme. The sold-out auditorium was brimming with an enthusiastic audience.
The play had some interesting attributes - live musical orchestra supporting the actors singing on stage, drama in simple English, dances and choreography to embellish the development of the story, costumes specific to that time period, the fine selection of songs appropriate to the mood in the story. The cast and crew of 50 or more included children and adults.
The story line was easy to follow, starting from the early childhood of Thyagaraja to his old age. Thyagaraja’s determined and uncompromising devotion to Lord Rama with little regard to day to day life, the problems arising out of this between him and his brother, the split in the family, were well portrayed. When Thyagaraja’s brother Japesa throws away the Rama idol in the river, the anguish and the joy when Rama is lost and discovered were well portrayed by Venkataraman.
Rangarajan as the angry and disgusted brother Japesa played the role very well. Vijayashree and Prema as the respective wives acted well too.
Chinamayee and Venkatraman, played the young and the adult Thyagaraja.
All the supporting cast, some of them playing multiple roles, acted out their parts to the fullest.
The singers and musicians combined well to create an enjoyable experience.
The stage decor and the colorful costumes were well blended with the story line. The creative team that put this toegther included Radika Ganesh, Malti Srinivasan, K.K Srinivasan and Indumati Krishnamurty.
Contact: Sreebala Rangarajan email: balarangarajan@hotmail.com
