Sixth Madhavi Festival - A vision of transcendent excellence in Malavika Sarukkai’s ‘Darshan’

Malavika Sarukkai

The month of July has been very sultry in Delhi. The humidity and the heat together are oppressive. The invite for the Madhavi festival lifted the spirits a bit because one doesn’t even feel like stepping out of the house at this time.

Rama Vaidyanathan

 

 

 

Meera Khanna

 

 

The annual Madhavi festival is curated by Guru Rama Vaidyanathan and organized by the trustees of the Madhavi Foundation, which was instituted in memory of their mother, Madhavi Gopalakrishnan. These trustees are Rama Vaidyanathan and her siblings Meera Khanna, Indira Nayar and Col. Ravi Nair.  

 

Dakshina Vaidyanathan Baghel

Madhavi Gopalakrishnan’s granddaughter Dakshina Vaidyanathan Baghel introduced the evening in her eloquent manner and following the lamp lighting, it was Meera Khanna, one of the trustees, who spoke about the trust and her mother in a very impressive manner. It was their mother, a lifelong rasika of the performing arts, who gave them the courage to curate this festival. Their parents gave them the wings and the roots to create, she said. Their parents gave them inspiration, innovation and imagination. The artist featured this year was Bharatanatyam exponent Malavika Sarukkai, presenting ‘Darshan’.

There was a flower rangoli at Kamani in front of a huge picture of the event showcasing Malavika Sarukkai. On the stage was a portrait of Madhavi ji among roses and rajnigandha stems. The auditorium was chock-a-block. Malavika wore a golden-yellow and red saree. She looked petite on the huge stage that Kamani has. She embodied the saying that creativity is seeing the same thing from a different angle. Malavika presented four choreographies that she has visited several times in her career as a dancer. She said that they have stayed with her and grown with her like old friends, and with each retelling, they have steeped deeper and deeper, making the process immersive and transformative. Each piece featured a moment of transcendental revelation, realization or vision. That is what ‘Darshan’ was all about. She was accompanied by Neela Sukanya on nattuvangam, Krithika Arvind on vocals, Nellai Balaji on mridangam and T. V. Sukanya on violin, with absolutely brilliant light design by Sharad Kulshreshtha. 

 

The first piece was ‘Shiva’s Dance’, verses from Balarama Bharatam, 18th century CE, music composition by B. Seetharama Sharma. As Shiva dances the tandava, a few ghungroos from his anklet come loose and are flung up in the air. He fears that if they fall on the earth, they will wreak havoc, so he chooses to receive them on his body and let them fall gently to the earth to the sound of rhythmic syllables. The syllables that emanate from the four ghungroos falling on his head, shoulder, knee and foot are tat dhi tum nam. From these first sounds arose the endless rhythmic syllables. 

Standing with her back to the audience in the stance of Shiva holding agni and damru, Malavika covered the stage. She depicted the jata, snakes and Ganga flowing sideways, taking stances. The noopur fly up and Malavika showed with agility and leaps how Shiva bears the falling beads on his body and back. These are the moolkaranam of all syllables. 

 

The nritta that followed was chakkars and stage coverage with damru moves, ending with her hand highlighted in the tremorous moves of playing of the damru. The consummate mridangam by Nellai Balaji was a stunning partner to the dance and awed the audience.

The following piece was ‘Marich Vadham’. The verses were taken from Shri Ram Charitmanas of Sant Tulsidas, 16th century CE. The tale has it that Marich had had a taste of Rama’s arrows when he was tormenting Rishi Vishwamitra and the princes from Ayodhya were present to protect the rishi. 

 

The injured Marich was carried to Lanka and received refuge from Ravana, though he is destined to achieve moksha at Rama’s hands. Years later, Ravana conspires to kidnap the unprotected Sita from the forests during the vanvaas when Rama follows Marich, who is disguised as the golden deer and has enchanted Sita. 

Marich agrees to do the horrific task because he thinks that it would be better to die at the hands of Rama rather than of Ravana. At least he would attain sadgati if he died at Rama’s hands. The Manas is full of such tales that speak of the bhaktavatsalta of Rama. He would do anything to fulfil the wish of his bhakta, even if the bhakta prays to him only out of fear. 

With the violin setting the mood, Malavika ji began showing the attributes of Rama, who wears the peetambar, baan and sharasan in hand, rajiv nayan, jata jutane shobhit, the knotted locks on his head. The three live happily in the forests. Sita has forgotten and forsaken the comforts of palaces. Through nritta, the beauty of the forests was depicted, the trees, vines and flowers. 

Maa Sita is happy with her husband in thatched hut in the forests, living in the lap of nature, with animals and birds as her companions. The peacocks are dancing, the birds chirping and the bees hovering over the flowers. She looks into the river and sees her reflection in it. The trees, the vines, the fish in the river, all give her pleasure. Malavika’s footwork and abhinaya were captivating. 

 

In a change of scene, she depicted Ravana walking with vanity and pride to Marich with eyes dripping with violence, telling him that if he does not go and do as told, he will be turned to ashes. She portrayed how the beleaguered Marich feels. Ravana threatens him that his death is certain, he only has to decide at whose hands. Marich warns him that Rama is not an ordinary human. As the tale goes, Marich appears as a golden deer to lure Sita. Malavika ji did the act with leaps and agile footwork, moving all over the stage as a deer. When Sita comes to Rama, asking him to get the deer for her, Rama ponders on the larger cause behind it, sees the greater design, strings his bow and leaves. The chase was depicted by showing Rama as running and Marich leaping and avoiding the arrows. 

 

It was then that Rama gets his strongest arrow and shoots him down. Marich falls, crying out for Laxman. And it is at this very poignant juncture that Marich attains moksha as Rama showers him with his krupa – muni durlabh gati deeni. 

 

During this piece, Malavika’s demure and diminutive figure owned the whole stage, moving all over and in and out of the wings. The vocals were commendable.

The next piece was ‘Krishna ne begane baro’, a composition of Vyasarai Tirtha, 15th century CE. Mother Yashoda beckons little Krishna to come to her. He comes to her and again disappears. She finds his morpankh and tries to find him. 

 

As she holds him in her embrace, his beauty is like the dark clouds or like the waters of the Yamuna. She ties a kardhani on his waist, kati pitambar, makes him wear a vaijayanti mala, applies chandan and shri gandh. She is busy listening to him when he disappears again. 

 

As she goes to him, she sees him eating mud. She scolds him but he refuses to open his mouth. When he does, she sees the entire universe in his mouth, the chaturbhuj roop of Krishna as he reclines on shesha, jagadodhar, the saviour of the world. She is unconscious for some time and when she regains her bearings, she is again the same mother and he, her child. She forgets all. She makes butter and tempts him to come to her. 

 

She picks him up and kisses him, drives away evil spirits, she brushes away the fact that her son is the trilokpati. With the very sweet melodic rendition of the composition, Malavika took the audience to experience the emotions of a mother and her playful child. 

The next piece was a befitting finale based on Krishna’s raas leela, the mystical dance. The verses were taken from Shrimadbhagvatam, 10th century CE. The choreography was inspired by miniature paintings of the 17th and 18th centuries. The music composition was by B. Seetharama Sharma. The experience transcends from the personal to the collective and from worldly to spiritual. Sharad is the season when the earth has been washed clean by the rains and on the full moon night, the earth is drenched in moonlight. Krishna, with his magical flute, beckons the gopis and make them follow him into the deep dark forests on the banks of the Yamuna. As he dances the raas with the gopis, in order to fulfil their intense desire, he multiplies to be with each one of them. In a moment of epiphany, they experience unbound joy and devotion. As bees dance on the lotus, so do gopis dance in circles around Krishna. 

The imagery was drawn through gestures and expressions. Malavika wore a flower garland for this piece. On a night lit by stars and a full moon, which is reflected in the waters of the Yamuna, the maharaas takes place. Lotuses are abloom in the water. In these magical environs, Krishna begins to play the flute, which too is magical. The women are busy in their households, one rocking her baby in the palana, one threading flowers, another wearing her ornaments and combing her hair. Yet another is with her husband. The sound of the murli enchants them; they abandon their tasks and move in hordes through the dense forests. 

Malavika showed the gait of Krishna as he moves and lures the gopis by playing on his flute. Then begins the celestial dance, holding hands, clapping, moving in circles as the instruments play. Krishna is in the centre and multiplies into infinite selves to be with each of them. The dance was shown with leaps and turns, moving across the stage, covering the stage with chakkars. 

 

She then took stances of the various leelas of Krishna – venugopal, giridhari, dancing on Kaliya, with Radha as Radha Madhav, chaturbhuj, venkatramana, Govind, Krishna with morpankh and bansuri. 

 

It was an epiphanic moment and the whole house stood up for a standing ovation, as much for the superlative music scape as for the dance. The outstanding musicians were all dressed in green, which was revealed when as they stood up for the final bow. They too were a part of the mystical experience.