MS Anasuya
(March 10, 2024 on Facebook)
Before introducing Naachiyar Next and how it evolved, Anita Ratnam gave a brief intro about the mystic women saint poets Andal, Karnataka’s Akka Mahadevi, Maharashtra’s Janabai and Jakkubai and Meera in simple English.
From the time of Krishnadeva Raya and the Nayakers who had celebrated Andal, Anita also compared Madurai Meenakshi and Andal as both held a parrot and sported a kondai, be it on the left side or right side. Even though everyone is aware of this, it was very enjoyable to hear Anita’s explanation. In the dance drama also, Anita’s role as the Sutradhar steering the story was impeccable. In no instance did she betray a sense of superiority in her immense knowledge on the subject.
When I came to know that the performance was to be of 70 minutes duration, I naturally wondered how Andal’s story could be encapsulated in that short time. But Anita Ratnam and her dance ensemble extolled the greatness of Andal in exactly 70 minutes through dance and song in an enthralling tribute combined with joy and pathos.
Starting with the paasuram “Kadhiravan guna thisai sigaram..” by Thondaradipodi Azhwar, we saw the beautiful portrayal of how Andal (Kodhai) was found as a baby in the Thulasi garden at Srivilliputtur born on the Pooram star, and how the little Kodhai makes a delightful entry with a skip in her step. In a dance drama such as this, it is a challenge for the director to have all artistes “share equal space” and Anita achieved this admirably.
To the lines “Painkili vannan Sridharan enbathor paasathaga pattirunthen…” from the Naachiyar Thirumozhi, dancers Reshma, Rasika, Shambhavi, Nrithya, Devika, Anjana and Kirtana were given perfect chance and space to register their stage presence, so too the importance given to Sridhar and Madhusudanan.
Most appealing for me in this dance drama was Anita Ratnam’s choice of paasurams. The choice of few like “Sitram siru kaalai” and “Maale manivanna,” then verses from Naachiyar Thirumozhi like “Karpooram naarumo” and “Vaaranam aayiram”, what you could count on your fingers to convey Andal’s service to Tamil, using paasurams not widely used on stage is to be lauded.
For example, “Thai oru thingalum tharai vilakki…,” the first paasuram of Naachiyar Thirumozhi was apt. In “Painkili vannan Sridharan…” and following paasurams where the cuckoo, breeze, clouds and parrot (Of course it is Andal) are being sent as messengers was as beautiful as her Tamil in the way they were linked.
Everyone knows that Andal wore the garland meant for the Lord and admired her reflection in the water of the well. This same well supposed to have been her mirror then is still found in Srivilliputtur in her temple. This scene was superbly portrayed by Anita Ratnam’s dancers.
Surrounding Kodhai, her friends circle around her with a mirror held aloft and the way their dance conveyed bhakti and pride was commendable. Brimming with sringara was dancer Nandini as Andal whose abhinaya and body language spelt ecstasy!
Kannadi sevai is a famous ritual in Thiruvarangam/Srirangam. Instead of just reflecting a part here and a part there, one can see the whole divine figure of the Lord in the mirror room from all angles. On witnessing this scene, I recalled Arangan’s ‘Kannadi arai sevai’ (rituals in the mirror room) and Andal’s sanctum (in front of Periya Kodandarama sanctum) and her reflection with Arangan in the room of mirrors.
There were 3 highlights in the dance drama on Andal.
1. How Andal admires her reflection wearing the garland meant for the Lord.
2. As Andal spends her days pining and waiting for her lord Arangan to come and marry her, how her condition arouses pity in her father Periazhwar and a fortune teller comes to relieve him of his stress.
3. To the sound of the maddalam and the divine conch, how Andal observes the marriage rituals with the Lord holding his hand, then goes to Thiruvarangam with him, stepping into the Gayatri mandapam and finally merges with the Lord was a beautiful sight.
Anita’s artistic brilliance was evident in all the above scenes and in the third instance, it transcended to bhakti (which could have been bhakti to her art, or bhakti towards Andal or her bhakti for Tamil).
As we neared the final scenes of the presentation, the viewers were indeed eager to know how they would show the scene where Andal merges with the Lord. The way Anita envisaged it was brilliant. All present lauded it for perfect orchestration and brilliant performance. (I overheard Vani Ganapathy telling her neighbour she ‘had tears in her eyes’).
While I can say that it was overall an amazingly brilliant performance, I do have a couple of observations.
1. Perhaps the paasuram where Andal says she would cook 100 pots of akkara-adisal to the Azhagar Malaikallan could have been included.
2. The extremely short less than 5 minute scene of fortune telling was a bit of a disappointment.
While Andal paid tribute to Tamil with her Thiruppavai and Naachiyar Thirumozhi, I can confidently say that Anita Ratnam and her team paid a marvellous tribute to Andal with her dance drama production. It was an amazingly brilliant performance!
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