Saahari & Anamitra Bharathanatyam Arangetram-Brochure

Program

About Arangetram

The word Arangetram marks the completion of the initial dance training and it means “ascending the stage”. Arangetram (அரங்கேற்றம் ) is a Tamil word, coming from two words “Aram” and “eru”. This artistic performance is the culmination of many years of dedicated hard work by both student and the Guru and is the very first formal presentation of the student. On the day of a Bharatanatyam Arangetram, the students offer their knowledge of the Bharatanatyam art at the feet of Lord Nataraga and their Guru. On this auspicious occasion, the artists ascend the stage with hopes to display their talent.

Pushpanjali

Pushpanjali is the offering of flowers to the god Nataraja, the lord of dance. It is also a salutation to the Guru, the musicians, and the audience. It is the invocatory piece of the Arangetram in which the dancers welcome the audience to the Arangetram and invokes the lord to bless them and everybody present.

Nadana Poojai Seivom

‘Nadana poojai seivom” a composition of Goplakrishna Bharathi, invites all to an offering of dance and describes the respect to be paid to the stage and the instruments and seeking the divinity that is inherent in all living beings. The jathis composed in this dance depicts the paraphernalia of the Lord of Dance.

Jathiswaram

Jathiswaram deals with the execution of adavus and mudras and jathis set to a particular raga and tala. It starts with a simple Jathi and is followed by intricate footsteps which are performed to swaras without any Sahithya. This exemplary piece combines rhythmic sequences of movements in groupings of jatis.

Varnam - Angaiyar Kanni

One of the masterpieces Lalgudi Jayaraman, ‘Angaiyar Kanni’, is a very vibrant varnam on Devi that expresses the NAVARASAS. The portrayal of Navarasas begins with Veeram, showing the valor of devi as a nimble princess. Next will be the interpretation of Shringara rasa when Pravathi expresses her desire to wed Lord Shiva, followed by Adbhutam where Parvathi is astonished as she witnesses Shiva reducing Manmatha and Tripuras to ashes. These are followed by other rasas, prominent of which is Roudram depicting the annihilation of the demon Bhandasuran by Mahakali. The repertoire ends with the dancers seeking Shantham and praying for peace in the world.

Intermission

Thaai Mannai Muththamida Vendum

This song depicts the love of the motherland for those who leave their country for many reasons. Set in the context of Tamil speaking people who left the island of Sri Lanka, the dancer expresses the inner feeling of people and the astounding nature and stunning sceneries of northern Sri lanka.

Adikkondar

Composed by Muthu Thandavar (BC 1560), this dance depicts the primordial energy of the ‘Tandava’ dance of Lord Shiva This dance describes the Lord as He who resides in all those who seek him in prayer, thus making Him as accessible as can be. The story of the asura- RaktaBija samhara and consequent Rudra tandava Of Kali is portrayed here. According to popular folklore, after killing Raktabīja and almost his entire army, Goddess Kali went on to kill all creatures in a fury, but was interrupted by a timely intervention from Lord Shiva who laid himself in her path. Striking his body, Kali was shaken and embarrassed and took out her tongue.

Asaindhadum mayil ondru

A composition of Venkata Subbaiar, this piece depicts the captivating dance of the peacock and evokes the enchanting melodies on the flute by Lord Krishna.The dancer also portrays endearing stories of Lord Krishna. The item includes the depiction of gambling between Pandavas and Kauravas in Mahabharata and ends with Drapaudi’s vastra-haran and her prayers to Lord Krishna to protect her..

Thillana

Thillana is a rhythmic, brisk and lively piece performed towards the end of a bharatanatyam repertoire. The dancers display challenging poses and complicated adavus and tirmanams. Thillana is a joyous expression of nrittiya with poses proving an excellent piece of artistry. ‘Dhanashree Thillana ‘is one of the gems of divine ancient art of Thanjavur style Bharatanatyam. Composed by Maharaja Sri Swathi Thirunal from the early 18th century, ‘Dhanashree’ is a 200 year old, authentic piece of bharatanatyam with glorious history.

Maruthamalai Maamaniye Murugaiya

This song, in praise of Tamil Lord Murugan, is dedicated to the Maruthamalai Murugan Temple in the state of Tamil Nadu in India. Described as the seventh house of the Lord Murugan, the temple was built by the Tamil Kings during the Sangam period as indicated in the Puranaanuru. The song was composed by Kunnakudi Vaidyanathan. The dancers express their devotion to the lord murugan, calling for his help in difficult times and his guidance in challenging times, their humility at his feet in glorious times and their gratitude to him for everything in their lifetime.

Mangalam

Mangalam is the grand finale of an Arangetram and signifies the auspicious conclusion to the arangetram margam. In Mangalam, the dancers express gratitude to the god, the guru, the musicians and the audience for the successful arangetram.

About the Guru

She is also adept at playing the Nattuvangam and possesses the rare talent of singing and doing nattuvangam for her students’ performances. Through Sriyam, she brings disciplined and focussed training in Bharatanatyam. Her students have performed in many venues all over the United States. This ancient classical dance form has now become her first love and profession.

About the Shishyas

Saahari and Anamitra grew up learning about and enriching their Tamil heritage. They take pride in their identity as Tamil Americans. They have been trained in Carnatic Classical vocal for several years under the guidance of Guru Smt. Sudha Ramakrishnan. Both of them have been learning Tamil language from the New Jersey Tamil Arts and Cultural Society (NJTACS) and also performed at their cultural programs numerous times. They are also students of Sri Satya Sai spiritual education program for over a decade, attending spiritual lessons at the Scotch Plains Sai Center. Saahari and Anamitra have been volunteering and engaged in the initiatives of the Ilankai Tamil Sangam America to help the underprivileged children in the United States and in their parent’s homeland in Ilankai.

Their artistic interests also expanded to learning musical instruments. Saahari play piano and won several awards and performed at the Carnegie Hall and the DiMenna Center for Classical Music in NYC. Anamitra plays violin and she is a member of the Concert Orchestra of the Greater Princeton Youth Orchestra. Currently, Saahari is a Junior and Anamitra is a Freshman at the Robbinsville High School in New Jersey. They both have plans to continue their passion for the art of Bharatnatyam, with Saahari planning to engage in initiatives that will help promote Bharatanatyam and Anamitra planning to continue further learning and teaching.

Orchestra

Nattuvangam: Smt. Nirupamaa Chandrasekaran

Vocal: Mr. Vignesh Ravichandran

Mridangam: Mr. Murali Minnal Balachandran

Veena: Mrs. Bhuvana Kannan

Flute: Mr.Visveshwar Nagarajan

Violin: Mrs. Deepa Venkat

Credits

MC: Mrs. Vasunthira Srivatsava

Makeup Artist(Arangetram): Mrs. Sarah Renu Kurian

Makeup Artist(Photo shoot): Mrs. Hema Devanathan

Video and Photography: United Visual Media

Decoration: Srishti Catering: Aru Suvai

Sound & Lighting: Atlantic Film Service

Vote Of Thanks

We thank the almighty for giving us the strength, courage and blessing to complete our Aragetram. Our sincere thanks to Guru. Smt. Nirupamaa Chandrasekaran for her dedication, guidance and support. We are extremely grateful for her time and devotion towards this Arangetram and for making it possible. We thank the musicians for their mesmerizing performance and for accompanying us on our Arangetram. Thank you to all our family and friends for their valuable support and effort to make this special occasion successful. We want to thank you, the audience, for being here on this memorable occasion. Finally we would like to thank our parents for giving us everything they can to enable us to do this Arangetram. We would like to end our thank you note and close this brochure with the following proverbs from the great Tamil poet and saint ‘Akathiyar’:

தாயிற் சிறந்ததொரு கோயிலும் இல்லை.

தந்தை சொல் மிக்க மந்திரம் இல்லை.

Program

About Arangetram

Pushpanjali

Nadana Poojai Seivom

Jathiswaram

Varnam - Angaiyar Kanni

The most enthralling as well as challenging piece, Varnam is the crown jewel of an Arangetram. In Varnam, the dancers display their skills in: Nritta (pure dance), Nrithya (use of gestures and dance movement to interpret the lyrics), and Natya (storytelling through Abhinaya) in perfect synchronization. One of the masterpieces Lalgudi Jayaraman, ‘Angaiyar Kanni’, is a very vibrant varnam on Devi that expresses the NAVARASAS. The portrayal of Navarasas begins with Veeram, showing the valor of devi as a nimble princess. Next will be the interpretation of Shringara rasa when Pravathi expresses her desire to wed Lord Shiva, followed by Adbhutam where Parvathi is astonished as she witnesses Shiva reducing Manmatha and Tripuras to ashes. These are followed by other rasas, prominent of which is Roudram depicting the annihilation of the demon Bhandasuran by Mahakali. The repertoire ends with the dancers seeking Shantham and praying for peace in the world.

Intermission

Thaai Mannai Muththamida Vendum

Adikkondar

Asaindhadum mayil ondru

Thillana

Maruthamalai Maamaniye Murugaiya

Mangalam

About the Guru:

Nirupamaa Chandrasekaran is a Doctor Of Homeopathy (India, CU) and a passionate Bharatanatyam Dancer, Teacher, and Choreographer. She holds a Masters’s Degree In Bharatanatyam and has been awarded the title of Nritya Shiksha Choodamani for demonstrating exceptional skills in teaching students the rich art of Bharatanatyam. She is the Founder-Director Of the Award-winning Sriyam Institute of Indian Dance Music and Culture that imparts intensive training in the classical art form of Bharatanatyam, Classical music, and Yoga to students of all ages. She is also adept at playing the Nattuvangam and possesses the rare talent of singing and doing nattuvangam for her students’ performances. Through Sriyam, she brings disciplined and focussed training in Bharatanatyam. Her students have performed in many venues all over the United States. This ancient classical dance form has now become her first love and profession

About the Shishyas:

Saahari and Anamitra have been learning Bharatanatyam since the age of 6. They started their journey of learning Bharatanatyam with Guru Smt. Selvi Chandranathan. Later, Saahari and Anamitra joined Sriyam Institute for Indian Dance, Music and Culture and have been training for their Arangetram under the tutelage of their Guru Smt. Nirupaama Chandrasekaran. Both Saahari and Anamitra graced the stages at numerous cultural programs in the tri-state area for several years leading up to their grand performance on their Arangetram as they mastered the art of Bharatanatyam with years of commitment to learning. Saahari and Anamitra grew up learning about and enriching their Tamil heritage. They take pride in their identity as Tamil Americans. They have been trained in Carnatic Classical vocal for several years under the guidance of Guru Smt. Sudha Ramakrishnan. Both of them have been learning Tamil language from the New Jersey Tamil Arts and Cultural Society (NJTACS) and also performed at their cultural programs numerous times. They are also students of Sri Satya Sai spiritual education program for over a decade, attending spiritual lessons at the Scotch Plains Sai Center. Saahari and Anamitra have been volunteering and engaged in the initiatives of the Ilankai Tamil Sangam America to help the underprivileged children in the United States and in their parent’s homeland in Ilankai. Their artistic interests also expanded to learning musical instruments. Saahari play piano and won several awards and performed at the Carnegie Hall and the DiMenna Center for Classical Music in NYC. Anamitra plays violin and she is a member of the Concert Orchestra of the Greater Princeton Youth Orchestra. Currently, Saahari is a Junior and Anamitra is a Freshman at the Robbinsville High School in New Jersey. They both have plans to continue their passion for the art of Bharatnatyam, with Saahari planning to engage in initiatives that will help promote Bharatanatyam and Anamitra planning to continue further learning and teaching.

Orchestra

Nattuvangam : Smt. Nirupamaa Chandrasekaran Vocal: Mr. Krishna Sridharan Mridangam: Mr. Murali Minnal Balachandran Veena: Mrs. Bhuvana Kannan Flute: Mr.Visveshwar Nagarajan Violin: Mrs. Deepa Venkat