42 years later, dance drama comes alive

CHENNAI: An evening of dance, mythology and a generous dose of nostalgia the revival of 42-year-old production 'Kaadal Valli Kanda Murugan' hopes to transport audiences into an era when dance dramas provided ideas for celluloid.
Choreographed for stage in 1974 by dancers V P Dhananjayan, Shanta Dhananjayan and their troupe, 'Kaadal Valli Kanda Murugan' was composed by Tamil poet Periyasami Thooran initially as an opera for All India Radio.It was later taken up by Bharatakalanjali, dance school founded by the Dhananjayans. "In 1974 when we took it up, we changed the format to a drama and it became popular all over Tamil Nadu. Interestingly, this production was a big hit in Japan too, and introduced Murugan to the people who were already fascinated by Krishna," says V P Dhananjayan. The revival of the dance-drama on the occasion of Thooran's 108th birth anniversary is special for the veteran dancer as it is being directed by his younger son Satyajit, who had been away from the stage for almost two decades.
"My parents have many memories associated with it as it was one of the oldest productions by Bharatakalanjali, so it was interesting to work on this.
A large work of this kind also helps provide a good training ground for dancers," says Satyajit who left dance to pursue photography and came back to dance. The story from the Skanda Purana, about the tribal girl Valli and how Lord Murugan tests her love for him encompasses drama, humour, perseverance and philosophy.
Though the 42-year-old plays the fleeting role of Murugan as a hunter, with this production Satyajit is slowly coming back to his parental fold to work with Bharatakalanjali.
"I was observing that the logistics, selection of dancers, arrangements for music and other administrative activities were eating into the time my parents' time that they spent for choreography. So I decided to help my parents," says Satyajit..
"The changes planned for the institution instead of being new, go back to what the essence of the foundation was 30 years ago," he adds.