Ilaiyaraaja composed the music for the Bharatanatyam dance-theatre Swappnam. Director Krithika Subrahmaniam tells Utpal K Banerjee that people no longer appreciate the margam form of dance
From the south of the Vindhyas, the artiste-icon Ilaiyaraaja — fondly referred to as Isaigmoni (maestro, in English) — has been a remarkable musical phenomenon, having composed over 5,000 songs and having provided background scores for more than 1,000 films. In the non-celluloid world, he integrated Tamil folk and Western musical sensibilities into south Indian music. Taking advantage of his grooming in classical guitar in Trinity College, london, he fused symphonic orchestration with traditional Indian instrumentation, performed by Budapest Symphony Orchestra and, later, organised a full symphony by Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, UK.
Indeed, Ilaiyaraaja was one of the earliest Indian composers to use Western classical music harmonies and string arrangements in Indian music. This allowed him to craft a rich tapestry of sounds, with his themes and background scores gaining notice and appreciation among Indian listeners. According to musicologists, his deep understanding of many different styles allowed him to create syncretic pieces of music — combining very different idioms in unified, coherent musical statements. Ilaiyaraaja composed Indian songs that amalgamated elements of genres, such as, Afro-tribal, bossa nova, disco-music, doo-wop, flamenco, acoustic guitar, Western classical music, folk, funk, jazz, march, pathos, pop, psychedelia and rock-and-roll.
Swappnam (dreams), the first-ever full-length musical composition — for classical dance production — by Ilaiyaraaja, was recently brought to the capital by Namaargam Dance Academy from Chennai. In Iliyaraaja’s own words, “Swappnam — the title is so vast. It encompasses all emotions — that of children, the aged, romance, the aspirations, everything. Thevaram (Shiva devotion), Shiva leela (conceived like Raas leela), Shivoham (one’s self-identity with Shiva), are pieces very close to my heart.”
Conceived and scripted by the noted danseuse Krithika Subrahmaniam — an ace disciple of guru Sudharani Raghupati — Swappnam was built in a sequence of cameos. Against a backdrop of Himalayan snow, the overture “invocation and lullaby” captured the universal mood of dream. This led to “dreams of the young” in raga Hari kamboji (with all seven notes in a string section) with delightful pas de deux by youthful couples. This was followed by “dreams of the old” in a spiritual vein to a composition by Swati Thirunal with Rudram (Shiva) chanting. Then came a delectable “her dreams and his dreams”, as odes to Thiruvembavai and Naandichol.
The second half featured “their romance” with the poetry of Kalidasa’s Kumara sambavam, followed by “song of the soul” from Nandanar Charitam. The penultimate piece was “realisation”, shifting focus to Western symphony and eulogising Nature. The finale was “awakening” with a lilting Adi Shankara chant — Bhajeham Bhajeham Shivoham Shivoham. To sum up, the entire programme was marked by a high degree of spirituality, embedded in the Shiva mythology, barring two inexplicable scenes of modernity and motorised transportation, punctuated by Mayurbhanj-Chhau interludes, in the thick of pristine, pure Bharatanatyam.
Excerpts from interview with the director:
How did the concept come upIJ
I had done a complete script when the suggestion came that we approach Ilaiyaraaja for a few Tamil songs. Time was too short and we approached him with trepidations in heart. He patiently listened to the theme and was so impressed that he offered to do the musical composition of the entire dance-theatre in a very short span of time. He was particularly pleased with our Shiva motif.
You didn’t opt for a continuous story-telling…
I reckoned that dreams are always patchy and occur spasmodically. So we worked out the segments that could range, on one side, from the soliloquy of Shakespeare’s Hamlet: “To sleep, aye, par chance to dream, there lies the rub,”… to the other side of Freudian Theory of Dreams, with the conscious and unconscious minds playing their dual roles.
Did you consider margam (standard sequence of items) as a possible alternativeIJ
Margam is the given preference among dancers in South India, but, at this given moment, it is rapidly losing popularity. When margam is presented in Chennai only dancers come to watch other dancers’ performance. I dance solo 10-12 times in the season, and duly do margam, but very few understand, let alone appreciate, a long and difficult varnam within margam!
Tell us about your unusually good choreographyIJ
Professionally, I am trained to be an architect and a designer. So, my way of looking at the dance composition is coloured by the lines of design, by the geometry of groupings, entries and exits, even by the way light plays on the faces of the dancers. My choreography has evolved out of my choice of moods and motifs.
Why did you mix mythology with modernityIJ
I felt that today’s audience needed that kind of relief. But, on second thought, I concede the point and may stick to more homogeneity and consistency in later productions.