Three patterns of poetries – Music, Literature and Dance – merged
Infusing fresh idioms into the evocative language of Bharatnatyam, Alarmel Valli, Chennai-based foremost exponent of the Pandanallur style dance form, created a seamless blend amongst three patterns of poetries, poetry in verse, poetry in dance and poetry in music during a one-half hour presentation at Natrani at AIAF session titled ‘Only Until the Light Fades’ – a line of poetry by Arundhati Subramaniam, Bombay-based poet and writer.
The nuanced vocabulary of Valli’s dance explored the complex layers of meaning in poems and lyrics of Sanskrit poet Bhoja’s Shringar Prakasham, Kalidasa’s Ritu Samhar, excerpts from Sangham poetry (Tamil), Javali (Telugu) and Vigil by Subramaniam and gave them a visual and melodic dimension. Valli said, “This is unique attempt to seamlessly synchronise contradictory moods, layers, patterns art forms of dance, poetry and music. Music composed by Raj Kumar Bharti aptly elaborates the patterns, tonal shifts and layers of moods in these poems.”
The performance travelled through ancient medieval times of Sanskrit poems having naive celebration of love, which turned into desolation in ancient Sangham poetry. While in Javali -19th century art form – the mood is furious, in Vigil – a class apart contemporary love poem has strong mood of protagonist re-asserting her identity. “This poem is the modern woman’s response to love,” said Subramaniam, “and Valli’s movements, expressions and postures are dynamic to translate the poetry in words into action. Conforming to the form of Bharatanatyam, She has created her own continuously evolving language that uniquely fuses music, literature and dance.”
