Two interesting Bharatanatyam DVDs / VCDs and their audio CDs have been released by Super Audio recently. Titled 'Madura Margam' and 'Navasandhi Kauthuvam', the DVDs have been directed by senior dance guru Prof. Sudharani Raghupathy and feature her sishyas.

Madura Margam

'Madura Margam’ features a margam (the traditional format of dance numbers) in a Bharatanatyam recital and comprises compositions of the late vidwan Madurai N. Krishnan.

VCD includes nine compositions - ‘Ranganjali’(in ragamalika), ‘Jatiswaram’ (in Rasali, a rare raga), Shabdham in praise of goddess Devi (in ragamalika), Kauthuvam in praise of lord Shiva Nataraja (Mohanam), ‘Varnam’ - ‘Aadharam neeye...’ in praise of Krishna (Karaharapriya), two keerthanams (in Sumanesa Ranjani and Revathi), a thillana (Simendramadhyamam) and Mangalam.

Each item has been performed as a solo by the senior disciples of Prof. Sudharani, featuring Priya Murle,Padma S. Raghavan, Shylaja Ramji, Priya Dixit, Aruna Subbiah and T.M. Sridevi. The DVD features a 20-minute introduction by Sudharani Raghupathy, where she explains the significance of the ‘Margam’ in Bharatanatyam, the unique features of each dance number, its origin in the temples, and an insight into the compositions of Vidwan Madurai N. Krishnan which were composed exclusively for the Bharatanatyam repertoire.

The audio CD of ‘Madura Margam’ features five of the compositions presented in the DVD and includes the Ranganjali, Jatiswaram, Varnam, Keerthanam and Thillana.

Navasandhi Kauthuvam

Navasandhi Kauthuvams are traditional compositions, composed about 200 years ago by the ancestors of the Tanjore Quartette.They comprise nine short dance numbers, each for about a duration of three to fourminutes, and set in rare ragas.

These kauthuvams are in praise of the lords of the eight directions - Indra, Agni, Yama, Nirruthi, Varuna, Vaayu, Kubera and Eshanna with Brahma in the centre. The kauthuvams were part of the ritualistic offering and were performed during temple festivals, at the procession and the flag hoisting ceremony.

Each kauthuvam describes the various facets of the presiding deity of each direction, like his domain, consort, mount (vahana), weapon, his favourite raga, tala, dance and his hand gesture (hastha). For example, Kubera rules the north and is the lord of wealth, his consort is Chitradevi and so on. The Kauthuvams are set in rare ragas like Desakshi, Gurjari, Kundalam, Malavashri, and Malahari besides Naatai, Varali, Madhyamavathi and Makutaramagiri.

They were choreographed by the Tanjore Quartette - Ponniah, Chinnaya, Sivanandham and Vadivelu, who were disciples of Muthuswami Dikshithar and court musicians in Thanjavur. The kauthuvams were handed down and preserved by the family of the Tanjore Quartette over the years, and a great-grandson, the late guru K.P Kitappa Pillai taught it to his sishyas.

Sudharani, who learnt these kauthuvams about 50 years ago from guru Kittappa says, “I still remember performing them at the temple in Thirukuvalai.

The Navasandhi kauthuvams are a treasure, preserved by so many generations and we wanted to share them with artistes and rasikas all over the world, so they can see and enjoy these tiny pieces, so beautifully choreographed several decades ago. While recording the music for this DVD, Sudharani says she has made sure to retain the authenticity of the original compositions, by referring to the hand-written lyrics of the kauthuvams, given to her by her guru Kittappa. The DVD features an introduction and info on the Navasandhi Kauthuvam, presented by Sudharani, followed by each kauthuvam performed as a solo by her disciples and a 15-minute clipping from an archival documentary made by the Centre for Cultural Resources and Training, New Delhi. on guru K.P. Kittappa.

The video clipping, shot at Brihadeeswara temple, Thanjavur, shows Kittappa explaining the significance of the Navasandhi Kauthuvam to Sudharani, and the kauthuvam on Brahma performed in front of the Dwajasthamba at the temple by two of Sudharani’s sishyas.

In both DVDs, each dance number is preceded by an intro with a short description. The music recorded exclusively for the two DVDs features Nandini Anand (vocal), Priya Murle (nattuvangam), S. Vijayaraghavan (violin) and K.S.R. Anirudha (mridangam).

The videos were shot at AVM Studios, Chennai and co-ordinated by S. Muthukumar and his team. DVDs are priced Rs. 350 each, the VCDs at Rs. 250 and audio CDs at Rs. 200 each.