Heroic deeds of Tamil God go on stage

Lovers of Indian classical dances in general and those who follow the heroic deeds of Lord Murugan in particular can look forward to an evening of music, dance, colour and piety as one of the most significant aspects of Hindu mythology goes on stage next week in Auckland.

Students of the City based Sai Natyalaya, a School of Bharata Natyam will present Soora Samhaaram, a significant chapter depicting the strength and valour of Murugan at the Dorothy Winstone Centre of Auckland Girls Grammar School on July 24.

About 20 Chapters of the Tamil God’s crusade against Soorapadman, a demon who terrorised three worlds will be on stage, embellished by exquisite properties, costumes and music. About 50 students of the School will participate in the three-hour show.

Ramachandran Muralidharan, a choreographer, dancer, teacher and producer of several unique shows, is in Auckland giving the finishing touches for the programme.

As well as composing music and choreographing the sequences, he has been involved in all aspects of production.

“The enthusiasm of the students of Sai Natyalaya has been heartwarming. They have evinced great interest in ensuring that their performance reaches the high standards expected from such an important production. Principal and Director Renuka Ketheesan, who has also choreographed some sequences, is fortunate to have such dedicated students,” he said.

Mr Muralidharan has 15 dance productions to his credit, among which is Silapathigaram, one of the jewels of Tamil literature. His passion for re-enlivening aspects of Hindu Gods has given worldwide audiences several valuable productions, the latest of which would be Soora Samhaaram.

“Dance symbols can be as effective as language or music symbols for dramatic communication. What sets dance apart is the universality in movement and gesture, which is not bound like language, nationality or Culture. Dance transcends geography and humanises expression,” he said.

Based on ‘Kanda Puranam’ (Skanda Purana), Soora Samhaaram portrays the main purpose of the being of Lord Murugan, created by Lord Shiva (according to one version, by His Consort Parvathi) to destroy Soorapadman.

Apart from reinstating the belief that Truth will always triumph and that the Good will always vanquish evil, Kanda Puranam depicts the beauty, grace, dignity and courage of Lord Murugan. Known as the ‘God of Six faces’ (‘Shanmugan’), Murugan later marries Devayani, the daughter of Lord Indira and Valli, the daughter of a hunter.

The dance drama has had the benefit of music by well-known artistes including Ananthu, Kuldeep and Ravali (Vocal), Embar Kannan (Violin) D A Srinivas (Mridangam), Rajesh Vaidya (Veena), Navin (Flute).