Soul searching at the Attic !

Dear all,

Well in the middle of the season we are. I have had a good month, except that I have had to make a few very important re schedules. But I believe that everything happens for a reason.

This time I choose to talk about a very important tradition that had changed my artistic journey forever.

Right about the time when life, both personally and artistically was really rough on me I took one of my pilgrim trips to my haven, Tanjavur. It was the month of april, may about 5 years ago. I wanted a big "time-out" from chennai and hence was stationed at tanjavur for a good 20 days. Tanjavur is not only a center of culture, but all pockets of small villages around it are rich with different cultural identities of their own.

During the time of the Nayak king Achyutappa, who was a great patron of arts, he had encouraged artistes and artisans of various art forms to come to his country. He promised them patronage and honour. It was under his guidance and great patronage that the Tanjavur Bhagavata mela natakams were encouraged. Achyutappa made large endowments for the up keep of this art form. He gifted an entire village as free hold lands for five hundred Brahmin families who had migrated from Andhra. They were the Bhagavatas. this village, which is presently called Melattur was previously known as Unnatapuri and during Achyutappa's time it was called Achyuta Puri. This bhagavatha tradition following the Sri Vaishnava cult, perform various melas (natakas) based on puranic stories. They perform Prahlada Charitram on Nrisimha Jayanti day and continue for the next ten days with Rukmini kalyanam, Usha Parinayam, Harischnadra and other plays.Several other villages including saliyamangalam, neegamangalam, ottukadu all situated nearby too have a bhagavatha mela tradition.

I share with you my experiences.

Secrets of the soul -a divine and defining experience! The Bhagavatamela festival.

Man is one psyche, one whole of which body, mind and spirit are aspects. Every individual has in him this vast whole of consciousness, this great amount of contents of which the conscious self is not fully aware.

Many a times, I ponder about the artistic unhappiness one feels from time to time. While the reasons range from commercialization to marginalization one other important reason is excessive intellectualization too. While looking for a solution we realisation that to regain the lost happiness, the means is to attain inner artistic tranquillity- which is again the very purpose of art.

While, we struggle so hard to recreate a “temple stage” in our city prosceniums, while under the glares of arc lights, sophisticated acoustics, contemporary commentaries and the works we struggle to achieve the inwardization, let alone the more elusive “rasanubhava”, here is a clan of artistes who know no less than absolute inner tranquillity. It was a conscious, yet effortless reach for the “daiva siddhi” that Bharata talks about in the Natya Sastra, as the highest achievement or attainment of aesthetic enjoyment and the purpose of art.

Natya, a drama with music, dance, dialogues, stories, stagecraft and theatrics is best preserved by these dedicated artistes or Bhagavatas. The Bhagavatamela festival at Melattur year after year bings alive the greatest living traditional theatrical art form of Tamilnadu.

As I sat through the different plays I was overwhelmed, overjoyed and this excitement reached a crescendo leaving me tranquil. That’s when I started thinking; Melattur is almost cut off from even the main stream town crowd of Tanjavur or any of the other nearby towns. Just the travel to this place through the almost deserted road increases a sense of anticipation. Add to that a reverence one feels as we move into the streets. We begin to feel at home as we join people, both locals and visitors all gathered outside their homes and talking to each other from their “tinnais”. The air is fragrant with a festive mood. From the oldest living member of the village to even a tiny toddler, everybody is assembling and also assuming a sense of responsibility.
How hard do we struggle here in the city to gather people inspite of all the communication and transportation facilities? The audiences of our modern theatres are at luxury. They feel no obligation or sense of responsibility towards either the art or the artistes. Ofcourse, let us not blame them completely because when we are in the audience, don’t we do the same?

At Melattur, the reverence the artistes- each and everyone of them show (including every member of the musical ensemble) by first paying their obeisance to God at the temple and then getting on stage, the way they sanctify the stage with unhurried rendition of Bhajana sampradaya namasankeertanams, todaya mangalams while sanctifying the atmosphere and space with sugandas like sambarani automatically transforms the “site” or the stage into a reverential space. The message they send out is very clear; “we are about to engage in no ordinary entertainment, hence in the name of God let us endeavour upon this divine journey”. And then there is a beautiful start sans commentaries, explanations or credits. Including the audiences too in the namasankeertanams truly purifies and prepares our mind for the oncoming divine experience. All this stands in total contrast to the blaring of names, titles and laurels won, accompanied by thunderous applause that we are used to in the city. We applaud here at the Bhagavatamela too alright. Example, when Sri.Natarajan, the prime mover of the Bhagavatamela and a senior artiste walks in as Lilavati one cannot resist the urge to want to welcome him with a roaring applause, such in his poise, grace and if I may say, beauty. But when Lilavati and Hiranya have a repartee about his uncontrollable anger or while watching the long drawn powerful conflict between Hiranya and Lord Narasimha one simply not only forgets to applaud but even to breathe. Such is the power of their performances. Sri.Kumar who plays an electrifying and brilliant Hiranya brings out the character with so many shades that while watching his quivering lips and angry eyes one forgets that Hiranya is supposed to be a horrific rakshasha and begins to like the character and his mannerisms. There is no big fuss about drawing a line between loka dharmi and natya dharmi etc here. They are governed by spontaneity and that involvement absorbs us so completely that words of praise or even applause seem simply inadequate and almost silly. We are only filled with a sense of gratitude to God for giving us an opportunity to be a part of such an amazing experience.

Their technique, talent and artistic brilliance shine through with a power that oozes out of each voice that sings, each pair of eyes that express, each hands and legs that move. This power is palpably and directly drawn from none other than Lord Sri Narasimha himself from the temple right opposite to the stage. It is revelling to see how even Hiranya takes his strength from Hari. Everytime an artiste’s eyes fell on the temple, it glittered, dancing with joy and emotion as if, saying to Him “all this is your doing, for you and from you”. This absolute surrender reached the audiences like a wave of current. The young lad who plays Prahlada shines like a fresh pearl, timid and shy and yet showing bhakti and determination through his eyes that never once left the temple site.

The unhurried pace at which the Bhagavatamela natakas gradually unfold, scene after scene, helps the characters blossom and last in the minds of the spectators. This in itself contributes greatly towards reaching the aesthetic pleasure – Rasaanubhava. It is rather simpleton sometimes to expect this same feverish joy within the confines of an A/C auditorium, time clocks and an hour and fifteen minutes iron hand et al; Let us wake up and face the fact that by pushing our arts to the so-called grand venues we stripped much of its chance to unfold and leave a telling impact. The ambience and the audience play a very vital role in the aesthetic enhancement of any art. And if most times all we can have them remember is the colour of our costumes and some frivolous detail about the program that’s no success.
Notwithstanding the tough calls one needs to take on the choice between fast paced items to slow (chowka kala) pieces etc to retain audiences!, even the choice of language for commentary becomes somehow crucial and subject to criticism often. We think and come up with ways of simplifying and spoon feeding the spectators; Indian audiences, NRI audiences. Will the telugu audience like watching a tamizh varnam? Will the tamizh audience understand a telugu varnam? The dilemmas are endless. But at Melattur, which is a tiny village in Tamilnadu with predominantly tamizh speaking people, the Bhagavatamela natakas are presented in pure literary telugu. Ofcourse they do present an occasional tamizh play too like a Valli Kalyanam etc but definitely not with a prime motive of pleasing the tamizh audiences. It is extremely refreshing to see that there is no parochialism what so ever here. It is my opinion that it is only us, in the city who in the name of betterment and reach are over intellectualising the arts. The best tool that these traditional art forms like Bhagavatamela uses against this problem is, simplicity and adhering to tradition. They inculcate a taste for higher standards and understanding in the audiences rather than playing to the gallery. After all, how can the art be a tool of communication if its language is its own barrier or if its commentary leaves no room for interpretation? Of course by saying all this I do not mean to belittle the artistic greatness of those veterans whom we have seen and see as inspiring examples of how we can use the given space and time to create aesthetic joy on a city stage too. However, the accessibility we have to better ambiences, better aesthetics (viz a viz our great ancient temples) and how we almost overlook them and are quickly trading them for modernity and so called globalization urged me to think whether we are stepping into the global scenario without a definitive individuality and are allowing ourselves to be simply swept off our feet.

The religious and spiritual force that drives the Bhagavata mela artistes is telling. This great ritualistic nataka tradition answered many a questions for me. These dedicated artistes or Bhagavatas and faith taught me to never try to please anybody. I have to be truthful to my art and my heart. Criticism for that kind of process is abundant and success rather slow, but I learnt from them how to marginalize that disadvantage and look at the larger, bigger picture, where we might be part of a tradition building process. Of course traditions will have to stand the test of time. That will decide their destiny and future. But I shall strive to search deeper, farther and forever for the roots. I shall in the meantime, uphold what I have been left with, with sincerity and appreciation. How else can we explain how Sri.Venkatarama Sastri’s natakas (lived during the reign of Raja Serfoji) works would be fodder for powerhouse performances year after year, each year drawing the locals (repeat audiences) while being the canvas for stunning performances, fresh and new each time, yet still somehow unchanged for decades.

Afterall, creation is man’s lonely attempt to know his own strange and secret soul and its vocation along with his roots.

With this blog are some of the pictures that I had taken myself of prahlada charitram nataka. They belong to 2006, 07 and 08 I think.


Swarnamalya ganesh
Soul searching at the Attic !

Staring at the silhouette of the Attic !

Dear all,

The music and dance season has begun here at chennai a.k.a madras. I have been swamped with work and I realize that all the serious work that I am doing is setting me off on a different path.

This blog, I decided must be a continuation of Blog number three. Of course I digressed a little in four and five, but only to speak of some essentials.

In Thanjavur there are two most magnificent phenomenons according to me. One is the periya koil and the other is Seekezar Adipodi Dr.T.N.Ramachandran, affectionately called as TNR sir by all. He is a polyglot, a scholar, philosopher, saiva siddanta expert, a writer, a poet, a teacher and much more.

As my car drove into the by lane off the bridge adjacent to the Periya koil, I was a bit nervous. I got down and entered the veranda. All around me were stacks and stacks of books, shelves and cupboards full of books and there in the midst of books and scholars, on a wooden swing was seated the Great TNR sir. Simple and smiling, with his vettalai potti (beetle leaf box). Sir greeted me and introduced me to a dozen men who were seated in plastic chairs around him, chattering away. On my way to his home I was told that he was teaching a class and therefore his students might possibly be there too.

Students they were. Dr.Sivaraman (faculty Sastra university), Dr.Tyagaraja Sarma (Faculty Sastra University), Dr.Subbarayalu (Faculty Alagappa University), Dr.Kudavayil Balasubrahmanyam (the renowned archaeologist), Dr. Sankaranarayanan (English luminary of Sastra), his Guru Sri K.G.Seshadri, Dr.Kausalya, Sri.B.M.Sundaram (musicologist). A visibly awed me, was also asked to sit and participate in the class that evening. I drew up a chair and sat amongst all these distinguished men of merit. The cdiscussion that day was "Tiruvizimazalai Padigam of Appar peruman". For the next one hour I had lost myself. The distinction between the teacher and taught was blurred by high exchange of inter disciplinary knowledge. I heard quoted from Shakespeare and Sekkizar, Kambar and Tolstoy, Einstein and Arivanar. All the 'students" and the teacher shared several common qualities. All of them were older (to me:-)), all of them had the undying passion and aptitude to seek, all of them revered their teacher and the subject was supreme.

I was truly in the presence of Divinity. If knowledge is God then the place where so much knowledge is imparted has to be a divine shrine isin't it?

Not a moment was wasted in any gossip or malicious talk. Every word from every person there was knowledge sharing, ordained. TNR sir's Guru Triloka Seetaraman sir's words hang at the entrance to this house, as a silent witness to such erudition. TNR sir's bakti for Bharatiyar is only too well known.

The class got over and now was the time for them to hear from me. I was asked to share with them the kind of work I wish to do. I stood transfixed. I realized at that very moment that, no matter what I achieve in life, my way of life must be like these great men and all I wanted to do was look around the room, at everyone and say "I want to become you, you,you and you O! sire!"

This august gathering in his house is called "devasabhai". Couldn't agree more. Where goodness is, there God-ness resides. And this is the place. I feebly voiced my thirst to want to know about what was danced during the times of the imperial rulers. After a few rounds of scholarly discussions on that very statement I picked up courage and spoke in "open court" thus, " I believe there is no one better than Rajaraja, Sivapada sekharan, wasn't he?". I had betrayed my callowness in the field of academia with that one statement :-) 

Tnr sir smiled at me and said in his inimitable style, "adu romba serima... aana Milton Maa muni Paradise regained la enna solraar na..."

I sat there with rapt attention trying hard to get past my awe for such scholarship and participating in the actual conversation, but that never happened.

Finally, after two and a half solid hours of ears full of worthy words, mind full of worthy thoughts and hand full of valuable books (given to me by Sir), when it was time for me to leave, as I moved towards my car, TNR sir called out to me "Paeti..."(grand daughter...) I was so over whelmed that I wanted to cry.

Later that night when I was alone in my room, I calmly recollected the evening's events. That is when I realized an amazing fact. All the great "Dr"s whom I had met that evening had not mocked me for my ignorance or my novice. But instead they had all individually offered to help me in my journey. The hall mark of true scholarship. They all had addressed me as Tnr's grand daughter and had extended any help to me, should I ask.

I walked up to the window and drew out the curtains. As I stood staring at the silhouette of the Brihadeeswara Vimanam that night, I felt His blessing upon me. My time had arrived. I was at the gateway. A lock was hanging on it, but nevertheless, I had arrived...at the gateway.

Swarnamalya Ganesh

Still staring at the silhouette of the Attic !

Some hues on the Attic

The Tanjore quartette in the Big temple Painting

The Tanjore big temple was a seat of learning, particularly music and dance. From the time of Rajaraja II this temple premises was brimming with artictic learning and activities. The times of the Nayak rulers consolidated this and the last ruling dyansty of Tanjore, namely the Marattas greatly patronised all art forms. Most of the kings being musicians, dancers and poets themselves their respect and love for arts and artistes was great. It was in the court of these Maratta kings that the architects of present day Bharatanatyam flourished.

The Tanjore quartette lived about 200 years ago. They were the “astana” or resident music and dance teachers of the Maratta court. They not only have taught bharatanatyam but also hindustani dance. This fact is authenticated by their own words in a letter that they have written to the King and signed themselves. The tanjore quartette are the four brothers namely Cinnayya (1802), Ponnaiyya (1804), Sivanandam (1808) and Vadivelu (1810). They were the children of Subbaraya nattuvanar (in the court of Pratapa Simha) and Paramanandam Ammal. They were trained from an early age in the twin art of music and Nattuvangam (teaching and choreographing for dance). They were in service during the time of Serfoji II and Shivaji Raja. They were the students of none other than the great Sri Muthuswami Dikshitar (one of the musical trinity). They are credited with having created a “margam” or path, format which we use in bharatanatyam even today. They were great vaggayakaras (twin art of composing the lyrics and the music simultaneously). Their compositions are preserved in hand written manuscripts in the possession of their family members and their students who have passed it on through generations through practice and traditions.

There is a beautiful painiting of the time of Serfoji II in the front Mandapam of the amman shrine where the Tajore quartette are depicted as doing nattuvangam and singing while a woman is dancing. This goes to prove beyond doubt that they were the appointed dance masters for the Brihadeeswara temple. They were empowered to do so. For these services the Raja had granted them a house near the temple (today opposite the sankara madam on kamakshi koil street) apart from other rights and previleges during temple festivals like Brahmotsavam etc.

They created dances called the Navasandhi kavutuvam which are based on agamic rituals. These are part of the dik bali poja offered to the nine cardinal directions and to the Gods of each direction. This was set to music and dance and performed by devadasis under the mastership of the Tanjore quartette during the Dvaja arohanam (falg hoist or flag ascending day) of any festival. It is truly my blessing that my gurus from the hereditary community have taught me all of the navasandhi and the pancamurthy kautuvams.

The tanjore quartette’s musical compositions are plenty. Their pada varnams, jatiswarams, sollus, javalis, sabdams, tillanas are available to us both thorugh oral traditions and from the Manuscripts they have left behind. However, as mentioned above the Tanjore quartette have not only taught karnatic music and dance but also hindustani music and dance. We have not got muvh material on their hindustani compositions (if there were any) or the kind of dance they taught. From a beautiful painting in the nrtta mandapa outside the Murugan shrine (a nayak period addition) which depicts on either side a karnatic dancer (costumed in south indian dancing style) and a hindustani dancer (dressed in a hindustani style, which resembles closely the present day kathak costuming with a whirling skirt and blouse) we can understand that they were not only teaching and performing both karnatic aand hindustani dances but these were practiced in that very same nrtta mandapa.

There is a very important document at the Saraswati mahal library, tanjavur. This is a hand-written letter from the tanjore quartette signed (in tamil)on behalf of them by Sivanandam . This is in Modi script and addressed to Serfoji II. In this letter they introduce themselves as the appointed music and dance masters at the Big temple were they teach both karnatic and Hindustani dances upon the ordain of the King on the occasion of the marriage of Sowbhagyavati Rajasabai Ammani to Raje Saheb. This letter is a complaint that the temple authorities do not allow them to meet or perform in front of the King. From this it is amply clear that a tarditon of both karnatic and hisndustani music and dance existed in tanjore all the way till the time fot he Maratta rulers. This writer is presently researching on the Hindustani compositions that the tanjore quartette taught to the devadasis, the Tanjore quartette’s contribution to hindustani compositions and the influence of that on present day bharatanatyam.

The tanjore quartette moved to various other samastanams too. While Cinnaiyya moved to the Mysore court, Vadivelu Nattuvanar was patronised by Maharaja Swati Tirunal at the Travancore court. Their music and dance genius has helped shape the dances and music of these regions too.

The Tanjore Quartette returned to the tanjore court again during the time of shivaji raja and contiued their yeomen service to dance and music from there.

Thus, the walls (paintingss), Manuscripts, documents of the tanjore temple and library speak volumes of the presence and importance of the Tajore quartette.

P.S.: This is a part of a paper of mine that was published in a university journal.

Next, on my Sufi experience...Tasawwuf!!!

Swarnamalya Ganesh

From under rubbles of rich remains :-)

Behind the Attic!

Dear all,

Before I continue any further my story I have to speak about something very important. Some of my friends who have been around me long enough might have heard these things a million times from me but saying it all one more time, for the benefit of the new listeners wouldn’t hurt.

Bharatanatyam is today viewed as the Indian cultural identity. It is and will continue to be a part of the intercultural and interdisciplinary movement. It is not simply an art form practiced or learnt. It is not even simply a tradition of a sect of people, country or religion. It is a way of life with whose practice come issues of rites, authority, ownership, transfer, power, social, economic, political and moral status, cultural hybridity, adaptability and the co-existence of older traditions and newer sensibilities.

All the above-mentioned issues are key factors in shaping this artform. They are each a story to tell. Different beginnings and different courses but they all have a common thread. The most important parts of this story belong to the Devadasis or Hindu dancing women who were dedicated to the various temples over centuries. Art was still very much in the custody of these hereditary practitioners.

These were a group of people who were bound together by their way of life and profession; much has been said and written about them. These, community of artistes preserved for centuries, every aspect of this art as precious, ‘transferable only upon authority’ knowledge. They used rites, ownership, strict communal regulations, power and authority to practice and preserve this art form. It was hereditary just like how a carpenter’s son becomes a carpenter, goldsmith’s son a goldsmith. However, since this was not a caste but only a community or vrtti (a professional class), they adopted children from all castes to be included into the community and then trained them in their ways of life.

Most often people who’s prayers were answered, dedicated their first born to the temple, in service. A child would be given as a gift or donation to the temple or sometimes temples would buy children for a price. Now, as you read this I am sure it comes across as a cruel, regressive practice to you. But let us remember we are discussing a norm that was and therefore its important to understand the system from its socio-economic point of view.

During the various imperial rules in India, the temples were the seat of power and administration. They served as not only places of religious worship but as a cultural, administrative, economic epicentre. The temples were as wealthy as the Kings. They held separate treasuries and granaries. An entire village (within every kingdom there would be several villages) would be centred around a temple. Architecturally, houses on the four streets around the temple, their adjacent streets, the outer streets etc. were all allocated systematically to people of various professions who’s services were of hierarchical importance to the everyday up keep and administration of the temple and thereby the kingdom. It would not be an exaggeration to say that a prominent temple in a kingdom was the King’s public hall where his subjects would meet, get employed and interact with the King’s office. So, in this context the services of a devadasi were important only next to the priest! It was not only her duty to sing and dance as part of the various rituals but to also clean the temple, make garlands and do other such services. Therefore, to dedicate a child to a temple to be trained in the life of a devadasi was considered a great privilege and boon. Similarly, for a temple to come forward and buy a child (this is similar to hiring an employee today) means the child and her family are worthy of this honour (Don’t we feel elated if we get hired or campus selected by some fortune 500 company?). Besides, when children were adopted or bought from economically weaker families, the child found not only a home but also a whole new life and vocation which granted them among other things a social status.

It is true that some literatures in some contexts have spoken of dancing girls and the oldest profession going hand-in-hand. But they were far and few. The societal norms allowed for the devadasi to lead a life where she could chose her partner and live as an “ekacharin”(woman who is mistress to only one man) without being bonded in a marriage. They were hailed as Nityasumangalis (ever-auspicious) who were wedded to God. This meant that they were never touched by the societal evils of widowhood (shaving a woman’s head clean and making her wear white or khaki clothes and no bindi, flowers or any social interaction and considering her ill luck). They had rites of passage from the temple and were bound by religious norms. They underwent strict training, had a difficult social sanction order and then were expected to lead life according to religious codes, which were rigid. As a nityasumangali, a woman had the protection of a living patron and the deity of the temple for social identity. The devadasi was allowed to participate in the secular society to educate herself in artistic skills and exhibit the same in the midst of the connoisseurs. This gave her a unique position in the highly patrilineal society where other women had no role in public life. Every one hence had to respect her and treat her with chivalry.

Very often, for the want of a better explanation of a devadasi we hear people equating them to a catholic nun. While both are engaged in temple (God’s) service, nun hood demands celibacy and preaches virginity as a norm. But according to the Hindu nidhi and agama sastra we recognise the biological needs of every human (even those engaged in God’s service). Besides, the temples demanded heredity and skill in positions offered to workers. Heredity to ensure dedication and commitment. So, a devadasi was allowed and encouraged to have a progeny so that generation after generation dedicated servants to Gods and temples were groomed. However, it was not enough to be born into the community but one had to train hard to get competent in order to claim their rights. We must also remember that just as gaining competence was difficult, unless born or adopted and resident in the community with its internal facilities any training would be impossible.

There was an evolved division of labour as cinnamelam and periyamelam, which consisted of female and male service providers. The female devadasi being the central focus in a cinnamelam and the periyamelam consisting of nagaswaram and melakarars. Monetary benefits were shared in accordance to this hierarchy. Of course the devadasi remained the central force of the family under whose administration and governance the entire family lived. In a society, which denied respect and recognition to women, the devadasi was an independent professional maintaining an entire household well within the Hindu community itself.

Even the early travel accounts of Marco Polo, Nicolo De Conti, Nuniz and Peas do not call them prostitutes. They elaborate on their ritualistic duties and the high position and status these women enjoyed in the society. They also confirm that they were not married but were dedicated to the deities. A Dutchman Jacob Haafner who lived in India for more than 13 years during the late 18^th century and early 19^th century in his extensive travel accounts titled “reize in eenen palanquin” (1808) describes how he fell head over heels in love with a young devadasi named Mamia in 1786.

Devadasigal- Dancing whores?

The interest of the west turned to the devadasi, her unique social position, her art and beauty. She brought a certain aura of eroticism with her personality and life. This translated into a lot of literature and documentation by both Indians and westerns about devadasi, her life and work. All these constructions of a devadasi as a hindu high priestess who was exploited by the religious heads and the picture of her as a knowledgeable but impoverished maiden was very sensational and exotic for the western eye. By this time a new “elitist class” had begun emerging in India who s missionary education made them feel very self-conscious about their own traditions. They were fed with ideas of Indian moral systems being redundant and paganistic.

But sadly she has never told her story, hence much of the misnomer continues.

Devadasi means Servant to God. She is differently called as mahari, Talaikoli, Manicckam, sani in various regions of India. Why, even the French word Bayadere means a hindu dancing girl! Such is her allure!

I am a very proud student of one of the last few living devadasis of Tamil Nadu. It is not only a pride but I feel truly blessed and look at it as a divine ordain that through my Gurus I have the fortune of knowing their stories!

With more…in a while

Swarnamalya Ganesh

Behind the Attic!

Finding a Ladder to the Attic !

Dear all,

When I looked up and saw the board "Thanjavur Saraswati mahal Library" I felt like fresh blood was being pumped into me. My first visit there was in May 2006 (first visit as a serious researcher).

With pen and papers I walked in and got introduced to the Administrative officer. After a very warm welcome he gently asked me if I would like a tour around the Library. I said "yes that would be great but I wish to speak to the sanskrit and telugu pandits regarding a few manuscripts (Mss)". He looked completely taken aback. He quickly re-checked if I am infact the "Actor/dancer" Swarnamalya. When I smiled and replied in the affirmative he asked me what I wanted to do in a library!

This is a general perception that people have. When doctors, lawyers and other professionals engage in research people take them seriously but when people in the entertainment world talk of research (especially younger women) it is brow raising! I am used to getting this a lot and hence I explained patiently to him that Dance is my passion and I am a masters degree holder in Bharatanatyam. If he was surprised, he didn't show it and quietly he guided me to the Telugu Mss section.

I was thrilled and I subjected the Telugu scholar to a long monologue of how I needed to understand the connection between the dances of the chola times and that of the Tanjore Quartette. He looked at me plainly, and told me that I can go through the catalogue of the Mss and see what I wanted to see.

I sat there at his spartan desk, under the tall tombed, lime-washed pillars, on a wooden chair and grabbed the first catalogue for Mss. That day passed. A tap on my shoulder from my driver/guardian/confidant Kumar reminded me that it was 5 pm and time for the library to close.

All day, every day for the next four days and such four/five days for the next three months, all that I did was pour over the catalogues religiously. I made detailed notes of every Mss I wanted to see, check, read. I went to the sanskrit, tamil, marathi sections. I did the same.

My typical day at Tanjavur went like this; wake up at 5 am. Go to the periya koil at 6am. watch the sunrise there. Go to coffee palace (a tiny vegetarian cafe inside a tinnier lane!) have a nice breakfast (idli, dosa, vada etc) and go to Saraswati mahal at 8.55 am sharp. The local joke was Swarnamalya has become an employee of the mahal and a punctual staff one at that!

I was not only the first visitor for the day (everyday) but also the first person to enter the Mss section. All the pandits would leave the books and Mss I require on their desks the previous day itself so that I could start work sharp at 9 and go on until 5 pm without breaks ( and leave only when they have to literally neck me out, politely ofcourse:-). Kumar in the meantime would wait outside with a bottle of yummy, chilled paneer soda and a dosa. We would eat and head to the temple straight.

Watching periya koil by sunrise, by the day and at sunset are three distinct, marvellous experiences. I would go walking around the outer prakaram, often jointed by a very nice gentleman (a friend Mr.Sivaramakrishnan) who would entrall both Kumar and I with jokes and P.Js. I would then discuss the day with them. Kumar has several times put forth very thought-provoking questions to me.

One such example of Kumar's queries "Madam, if you say Tanjai naalvar (quartette) created present day Bharatanatyam, where have they it written down? and whom did they learn from?"

But on several days I would sing to myself and walk around looking at each sculpture over and over again, the wall inscriptions, asking to Brihadeeshwara what the purpose of my search is? I used to share with him my lament of not knowing what I was looking for. I wanted a path. A margam. I needed direction. I wanted to travel back in time but didn't know to where.

On one such directionless day I heard about a house. I was sent an invitation to come. Kumar and I drove past the periya koil that evening without stopping for our evening temple visit and went over the adjointing bridge.

A few minutes later, there I was. I was in the midst of divinity in human form. I was in the midst of knowledge. That was a waking moment. A game -changer.

wait till I turn the page next...

Swarnamalya ganesh

Finding a Ladder to the Attic !

P.S: This blog comes with a few exclusive, never before seen / shown pictures that I have lovingly shot of the periya koil/ saraswati mahal at various times of the day and a picture of me working at saraswati mahal.

Swarnamalya ganesh-With one foot on the ladder to the Attic!

Dear all,

I am overwhelmed by the response I am getting for my first blog. Thank you. With your approval, I continue.

I stood below the Great attic wondering. I knew I had a wealth of information on the chola times from the great research works of Sri.Nilakantha Sastri, Sri.Nagasamy and many other historians. I poured into all their works for days. I also read interesting points of view on various Chola temples and arts from people like Kalaikovan. Meantime, I had to submit a small 50 pages research paper on a topic of my choice for my M.A. final semester. If you remember I had mentioned the Tanjore quartette in my last blog. Now is the time to talk about them a little more.

The Tanjore Quartette are the four brothers whos names are Chinnaiyya, Ponnaiyya, Sivanandam and Vadivelu. They were court poets in the court of Tanjavur before each of them moved to Mysore, Tirunelveli (2) and Travancore respectively.

The TQ were great composers, dance masters and musicians (students of none other than Muthuswami Dikshitar, one of the carnatic music trinity). Most of the dance repertoire we have today is their contribution. The very format that we have for concert performance today is believed to be their creativity. However, the TQ did not invent this path or margam but discovered it from the larger mixed bag that was the court and temple dances. For this, they drew heavily from texts and practices that were passed on to them as traditions. So technically, they stand at the very fulcrum of an operation were a long continuity is recognised and validated through conformity. This conformity is not absolute and unchallenged but one that accommodates regional and present changes that form a vital part of futuristic traditions.

During and after the chola times the techniques and concepts of southern dance go far and wide including in them everything from solo religious dances, festival dances involving large groups of dancers, dances of victory and war, dance for rain, dance for love, martial arts, mime to poetry, dances as part of minor dramas, dances as part of elaborate rituals for rural deities, dances for the learned and elite and commoner, magic, puppetry and myths.

The existence of dancing techniques like the usages of karanas (units of dance which are the combination of foot and hand movements: Natya sastra; 4^th chapter) can be seen and understood from the extraordinary documentation of them on the temple walls as immortal sculptures. Example: the karana panels of tanjavur (there are 108 karanas in total that are elucidated in the Natya sastra but the tanjavur series has only till the 81^st karana. This karana is called sarpitam. We have no proper reason why the series got discontinued. Perhaps Rajaraja was over thrown/died before its completion or the learnt sculptor died or war broke out? The beauty is that the remaining 27 empty slabs are seen as unfinished poetry even today). However, no documentation of any form of Chola dances are available to us. No evidence of how these karanas were exactly danced during the chola times, in what form and how is available. So it will, until miraculous further findings remain only scholarly guesses.

As a practitioner of Bharatanatyam and a performer I am a die-hard Tanjore Quartette loyalist. I almost exclusively perform only their varnams, swarajatis and other pieces. Why? because, they are of the highest musical and lyrical quality. As a singer I enjoy singing their bhairavi s and todi s so much. It is soul full and steeped in tradition. The second reason is that I have been trained by Gurus (both Smt.K.J.Sarasa amma and my Gurus Tiruvazaputhur Kalyani Granddaughters) who are hereditary dancers (devadasi families). They adhere to tradition and have taught me to appreciate only the best. To evoke any emotion in me, my ears have been trained to want the most thought provoking and emphatic music and sahitya. Thirdly, I believe that the quartette have set a trend and a standard which has not been reached by anyone else until today. Their brevity of words, accent on long syllables and notes, usages of short jatis, rare ragams and rarer musical phrasing is a delight to sing, dance, listen and watch!

Now, I was torn between wanting to know how their genius arrived at this amazing repertoire and from where and my un dying love for Rajaraja and chola times dances. Like I had already mentioned not much we know of the chola dances per se except of the karanas and names of some dances. Ofcourse, Dr.Padma Subrahmanyam has researched the karanas from the natya sastric point of view and has practically reconstructed them.

My curiosity was to understand the present by seeing its relevance to the past. Past here was still chola (a good thousand odd years ago) to the Tanjore quartette (Maratha 18^th century).

I packed my bags. A bag filled with questions, doubts, queries and enquiries. I drove towards tanjavur. A few hours later as my car came to a grinding halt I jolted up from my sweet nap and looked up and a smile spread across my face!

More in my next...

Swarnamalya Ganesh

With one foot on the ladder to the Attic!

Below the Attic-Swarnamalya ganesh

Dear all,

When a whole lot of my friends kept requesting, insisting and even chiding me that I must blog about my work, my excuse/ explanation to them was that I must finish atleast a huge portion of my life's mission before I start talking about it. The herculean task ahead of me ofcourse was and is to reconstruct a lost dance form.

Here I am, four and a half years later...willing to start telling the world, a story.

Way back in 2005 when I was studying my masters in Bharatanatyam, I had a class project. Each of us had to chose any one historical period and write an article about the king, nobles, musicians and dancers and their artistic contributions to world.

I was/am a die-hard Chola loyalist. To me, Raja Raja II (10th century A.D) is the greatest of kings. He was an embodiment of vision and grandeur. The tanjavur Big temple alone stands as a testimony to his "larger-than-life" image. The structure of the temple, the stories behind each of the gopurams (example: the keralantagan gopuram) facinated me.

The most compelling of them all is the thought of RajaRaja entering the temple, majestically on a horse back, complete with his retinue of nobles, soldiers and other royals entering the temple through the anukkan nuzai vaayil (entrance). The temple’s north side is where this entrance is. It has wooden door frames. There is the sankha nidhi, padma nidhi, lamps, poornakumbha, chamaram holding girls. Saaradvarams and tandiyams are the kind of workmanship on the simha figures. Wooden roofs and maybe there were bronze or golden roofing over this back during the chola days. The entire entrance is in the style of the chera country. This was probably the entrance Rajaraja used to visit the temple everyday. To further prove this in the next inner entrance there are the ashtamangala figures.

He was born as the second son to Chola king Sundarachola and Vanavanmadevi. He was named Arunmozi by them. When Aditya karikalan died, the people of the Chola country wanted to make him the next king however Arunmozi’s uncle (father’s brother) Madurantakan was aspiring for the throne. Knowing this, Arunmozi made him king and let him rule for 15 years. In 985 C.E after the death of Madurantakan Arunmozi accepted the throne. It was during this time that he was named Rajaraja. He lost his parents at an young age. He grew up all his life under the care of his grandmother, Sembiyanmadevi and sister Kundavai Pirattiyar.

Rajaraja had many wives. Among them Lokamadevi was his queen in reign. Through Vanavanmadevi he had a son Madurandakan alias Rajendra Cholan. Rajendran Chola has two sisters Madevi adigal and Kundavai.

Rajaraja who had taken the country after the Pallava reign understood very early in life that war and strife will stunt the growth of his kingdom. Hence, he developed the culture, art, religion and education during his time so much so that it is not an exaggeration to state that tanjavur became a seat of art and music.

One of his greatest victories was the victory at kandalur salai.

Natya:

407 dancers, 7 nattuvanars, assistant singers, moraviyam, vangiyam singers, padaviyam singers, veena players, aryam singers, sankha blowers etc. In all there were 539 artistes in the temple during the chola reign.

The names, village names, place of work (temple they were attached to), the strret in tanjur were they lived, direction and house number have been mentioned for all the 408 dancers. The names of all the musicians, the manyams given to them, their work ethics, rules and norms to be followed have been inscribed in what can be called one of the longest epigraph at the temple.

Karana Series

They are the earliest in the series we find in Tamil nadu. They are performed by a male figure, identified as Siva. They are an incomplete series with only 81 karanas. They are in the exact order as told in the Natya sastra, starting from talapuspaputam to sarpitam.

My obsession with Rajaraja, the periya koil and the chola contribution to the world of dance is immense. I was so particular, adamant if you will that all other kings and eras simply fell behind the great chola times! In a way, they do. But i was blinded. So, when my lecturer asked me if I would like to write about the contributions of lesser known kings, I coughed up a very arrogant answer about how that would make my work insignificant. Now I didnt want that. So, it has to be Rajaraja or no No one else !

I did exactly that. I wrote about him and how he has represented Indian art especially Bhartanatyam in this visually stunning sculptural series and immortalized the Natya sastra in the south. At a time when communication was difficult, its amazing how what Bharata wrote as a grammer was sculpted on the walls at tanjavur. It only clearly shows that the karanas were very much in vogue and were in use in the south indian dance as well and that Natya sastra was very well known.

As a conclusion to my article on him and the big temple I added a a few paragraphs on the later kings who ruled Tanjavur and who added their own contributions to the great temple that Rajaraja had built.

I wrote about the Nayak kings and their additions. I wrote about the Marattas and their contributions. I ended the article with the mighty role of the Tanjore quartette (the four brothers) who I believe are the architects of modern day bharatanatyam.

Little did I know that with writing that article I had paid a visit to the Attic!

The attic at tanjavur!

More in the next post.

Swarnamalya Ganesh

from below the great Attic!