When the mercury is rising gently and the mood is set to music and dance, Shivaratri is the best time to be on the roads of Tamil Nadu. And be at a string of festivals.

If you are touring the state during the festival of dance inside and in front of the magnificent Siva temples, an extension of the tour by a week will be worth it.

Following the dance festival at the Chidambaram temple, you may want to enjoy the music festival at Mayavaram, now Mayiladuthurai, celebrating Gopalakrishna Bharati, the composer with modern ideas.

You might have watched all his compositions visually presented in dance as most of the dancers pick up the songs from Gopalakrishna Bharati's 'Nandanar Charitram' for their dances on Siva or Nataraja.

Thanjavur is also a nice stop to watch the Sivaratri dances at the Big Temple. The giant Nandi is in the background of the dancers while the magnificient gopuram in highlighted in the twilight.

While Thanjavur, by itself has abundant tourist attractions, travelling to the nearby villages can be a different experience.

Take a cab to the south of Thanjavur through Kandiyur to Tiruvaiyaru. You might not recognise the two small stages on the banks of Cauvery in front of the samadhi of Saint Thyagaraja. The place looks like a rural fair during the annual aradhana. You may want to sit on the steps leading to the river and reflect on the samadhis of Thyagaraja and Bangalore Nagarathinammal and pay your homage silently.

On the way back to Thanjavur, take a right turn at the Kandiyur junction. This road leads you to Tirukkattupalli. Plantain 'thoppus' embrace the road on both sides. In about two kilometres you will see a board welcoming you to Tirupoonthuruthi. Heard of this name before?

Take the village road to the river Kudamurutty, by which name river Cauvery is known at this place. The river here flows with a gush during the monsoon and hence the name – the river that rolls the pots out of your hand.

If you are a lover of arts, you would associate the name of this place with the beautiful Sanskrit work of Narayana Tirtha – 'Sri Krishna Leela Tarangini'.

Though Narayana Tirtha was born in Guntur district in Andhra Pradesh, stories say that he followed a boar (varaha) at the instance of Lord Srinivasa of Tirupati and reached a place now known as Varahur. He is said to have built temples dedicated to Lakshmi Narayana Perumal and Venkateswara Perumal.

But Narayana Tirtha is remembered by the arts community not for building the temples but for his verses, 'Sri Krishna Leela Tarangini', bringing life to the waves of his mind. ('Tarangam' means 'waves' in Sanskrit). This work narrates the story of Lord Krishna from his birth to his marriage to Rukmini.

The quiet village comes alive during the three-day arts festival held to mark the occasion of the saint attaining 'samadhi'. The day falls on the eighth day after Shivaratri. On the Shukla Ashtami day.

Sanskrit scholar Dr. V. Raghavan places Narayana Tirtha as one of the important icons in the history of Carnatic music. Encouraged by a few music enthusiasts and musicians like M. S. Subbulakshmi and K. J. Yesudoss a festival has been organised every year by Tirupoonthuruthi V. Venkatesan who hails from this place.

The sprawling mango tree, which is believed to have stood witness to the saint's jeeva samadhi, forms the backdrop for the concerts. Vocalist K. J. Yesudoss had earlier done a 13 episode serial for Doordarshan on the compositions of Narayana Tirtha and enjoys participating in the aradhana every year if he is around.

The verses of 'Krishna Leela Tarangini' are also favourites of dancers as they are set to dance formats. Sri Krishna is said to have danced to the tunes! Of late, dancers have also been performing at the festival but they have to manage the show on the small stage at the venue.

The festival was held from Feb. 22 to 24 this year starting with veda parayanam and Unchavritti and continued with concerts held through the day and into the night.

The trustees of the aradhana committee pooled funds and built a Mani Mandapam for the stay of the vidwans who are here for the festival.

You can reach Tirupoonthuruthi from Thanjavur by town buses no.1, 12A, 35, 51 and 475A. It is 13 kms away from Thanjavur and you will reach the place in about half an hour.

A bus ride is fun - a window seat allows you the best views of a lush Thanjavur, if the monsoon has been bountiful!

<<If you wish to know more about the fest, contact vocalist Tirupoonthuruthi V. Venkatesan in Chennai, Phone - (044) 2493 6671 >>