Anand Satchidanandan’s performance was an ode to Ramana Maharishi

The twenty seventh annual thematic pageant of Natyarangam, Acharya Bharatham, concluded with a deeply reflective manufacturing on Ramana Maharshi, carried out by Anand Satchidanandan.

Opening with the story of his start , the presentation wove divinity into the very act of his arrival. marked by the blind midwife’s imaginative and prescient of sunshine. It is claimed that she skilled a imaginative and prescient of vivid mild for the time being of his supply. Anand traced this second with stillness and charm, invoking the sense of a future that was to flower into non secular illumination.

The choreography then moved on to the invention of Arunachala, a reputation that resonated in younger Venkatraman’s coronary heart even earlier than he might begin talking. . Anand’s abhinaya right here captured the innocence of childhood, giving manner to awe when the phrase discovered its earthly anchor in Tiruvannamalai.

Ramana’s non secular pursuit

The dancer moved to the important thing second of death-awareness, which turned the boy right into a non secular seeker. Anand lay fully nonetheless, exhibiting the moment when the respiration stopped, the physique turned immobile, and the everlasting self was revealed. His stillness on stage conveyed greater than motion, echoing the Maharshi’s manner of educating via silence.

The journey to Arunachala was neatly depicted by Anand Satchidanandan, whose choreography was impressed by the life and teachings of Ramana Maharishi.
| Photo Credit:
SRINATH M

The journey to Arunachala was proven with simplicity and devotion. Anand depicted Ramana giving up all his belongings, preserving solely a easy loincloth, and getting into into deep meditation. The narration recalled how Ramana remained unmoved even when bugs bit him. Anand selected not to act this out in a dramatic manner; as an alternative, he used calm and refined actions to present Ramana Maharishi’s quiet energy and interior peace.

Later episodes introduced to life the Maharishi’s encounters with household and devotees. His silent response to his mom’s pleas, rendered as poised stillness, carried profound weight. In distinction, his first written upadesha and later spoken teachings had been depicted via gestures that instructed writing and speech, whereas preserving the emphasis on inwardness.

Particularly evocative was the sequence of the hornet’s nest, the place the sage’s non-retaliation highlighted his compassion. The dance then shifted to how , Ramana guided his mom via the metaphor of creating appam, equating it with the trail of self-enquiry. Anand infused this with light humour.

The finale drew the strands along with the Arunachala music. Sitting within the iconic posture of meditation, Anand turned the nonetheless mountain-sage himself, the dance dissolving into silence because the picture lingered.

The manufacturing was enhanced by a powerful supporting crew. Ramananjali created the rating, whereas Adithyanarayanan dealt with the composition and vocals. The orchestra featured Sarvesh Karthik (mridangam, urumi, results), Jayalakshmi Anand (nattuvangam, make-up, costumes), T.V. Sukanya (violin), and Sashidharan (flute). The narrations had been by Aishwarya Neelakantan.

Anand Satchidanandan’s thematic manufacturing was a tribute to Ramana Maharishi.
| Photo Credit:
SRINATH M

Without resorting to extra or flourish, the manufacturing provided a quiet, contemplative tribute to Ramana Maharshi. It was an night the place narration, dance, and music moved in tandem, reminding the viewers that the Maharshi’s message was by no means about spectacle, however about seeing the reality.