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The Natyanjali Dance Fests are special. The dancers hop across one temple to the other during Opening evening at Chidambaram Green, rolling fields greet us this year as we do the final lap to Chidambaram. As always, I look out to my right, to catch the first image of the towering gopurams of the temple which will be our host for five days.
But there can't be a better welcome than a simple sapad (meal). Veteran Vageesan is still in charge of the dining operations at a simple chatram, close to the temple. The Natyanjali Trust is a nice host. And the food is delicious.
We at KutcheriBuzz had plans to webcast live the prime time dance recitals with the communication backup of BSNL. The plan falls through after the Podu Dikshitars deny us permission to run cables into the temple campus.
A dance fest like the Natyanjali in Chidambaram, now in its 26th year, deserves a worldwide audience. We are trying to do just that. Doordarshan, India's national state-run TV does cover the recitals but it telecasts them in installments at odd hours. Perhaps, DD could telecast live the opening evening's prime recitals.
On the dot, at 5.45 pm the nadaswaram by Chinnamanur Vijay Karthikeyan kicks off the fest. And Chinnamanur Chitra presents her dancers for the first recital.
The Tanjore Dance Music and Art Research Centre based in Vadodara, Gujarat, was founded by guru Kubernath Tanjorkar after he moved northwest from Tanjore, his son Ramesh, now the centre head, tells me.
The best thing about the Natynajali is that it accommodates artistes from different parts of the country. Backstage musicologist and researcher B M Sundaram meticulously keeps a record of the artistes, the dance pieces presented on stage and notes on these pieces. "I have documented 16 Natyanjalis," he tells me before setting out with dancer-actor Swarnamalaya who consults Sundaram on her research thesis.
Zakir Hussain performs. With him is the dimunitive Suvedha Pararajasingham from Canada. Her mom, Nirothini, a Sri Lankan, learnt dance in Chennai when she was in college here. Marriage took her to Toronto where she manages a diamonds and jewellery retail business during the week and teaches dance on weekend, mostly to Sri Lankan Tamil girls. "We closed the store back home to be here," says Nirothini. "Performing here is a once-in-lifetime opportunity."
It is always a packed house here on Mahasivaratri night.
Srekala Bharat performs. And then when Sundaram announces Padma Subrahmanyam, there is a loud round of applause. Padma explores Sekkizhaar's story on Nandanar in his 'Periya Puranam'. She says composer Gopalakrishna Bharathi gave the Nandanar story a different twist, featuring a merciless Brahmin landlord. Nephew B. Kannan who plays the veena for Padma says that Nandanar was a maker of music intruments and was keen to worship Shiva but kept restraining himself and hence the lord took the step to get him into the temple and merge with him.
The chief guest for the fest arrives. Late. It has been a long drive for Chief Justice A. P. Shah and his wife. With them is Natyanjali regular Justice Praba Sridevan. At the brief function, held close to 10.30 pm, senior dancer V P Dhananjayan takes us back to the time when a simple dance recital in the thousand-pillared hall in the temple, led to the foundation of the Natyanjali.
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