A dance through royal history

The legacy of the 600-year-old Wodeyar dynasty is the subject of the Bharatnatyam dance presentation, Under The Double Eagle. Choreographed and performed by Lakshmi Gopalaswamy and Satyanarayana Raju, exponents of the dance form, it is being presented as part of the Bangalore International Arts Festival to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the International Music and Arts Society.

Talking about the genesis of the production, Gopalaswamy shares that the two of them were commissioned by the Chennai-based Narada Gana Sabha Trust to do a piece on the Mysore royal family in 2013. “Natyarangam, the dance wing of the sabha, holds a thematic dance festival every year and in 2013, the programme was called Bhoopala Bharatam and focused on good Indian kings who had ruled their provinces efficiently. The Wadiyars were among the dynasties that were chosen and it was the trust members who suggested that Satyanarayana Raju and I collaborate. That’s how Under the Double Eagle was conceived,” recalls Gopalaswamy. Considering the historical nature of the theme, preparation for the presentation entailed delving into quite a bit of research into the royal family, to ensure authenticity. “To begin with, the sabha put us in touch with Vikram Sampath who’d written the book, Splendours of Royal Mysore. But besides accessing and reading books on the royalty’s 600-year-long history , a major challenge was to use lyrics and music pieces that were relevant to the time,” explains Gopalaswamy who according to Raju, “sat and did all the research because I am not someone who can read texts.”

“To get the right music, we met composers who have studied the Mysore royal family’s contribution to classical music.We also had Lakshmi’s mother, Dr Uma Gopalaswamy , who is a musician, giving us inputs on what ragas to use,” informs Raju. Gopalaswamy adds, “Prof Srikantam Nagendra Shastry was another key source of information. He even shared certain authentic Javali compositions with us.” While the research took them two months to finish, Raju informs the pair managed to complete the choreography in 15 days. The story of the production, if one may call it that, charts the life and times of 8 Wadiyars kings. “With the Wadiyar dynasty spanning generations, it was almost impossible to show all the rulers. Instead we chose the rulers based on their cultural contributions,” says Gopalaswamy.

Starting with Yaduraya Wadiyar, who founded the dynasty in 1399, the kings who are depicted in the production are Narasaraja Wadiyar I (Ranadhira Kantheerava), Chikka Devaraja Wadiyar, (Immadi) Krishnaraja Wadiyar II, Chamarajendra Wadiyar X, Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar IV and Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar.

About the choreography itself, Raju says that what proved quite the challenge was, “translating contemporary subjects into Bharatanatyam movements. For in stance, we had to work a lot to choreograph the portion that talks about the construction of the Krishna Raja Sa gara (KRS) Dam by Krishnaraja Wadi yar IV. I mean, how does one show something like this through simple hand movements and little else?” Gopalaswamy believes that the production will be nothing short of an education for the audience. “You learn about the kind of visionaries, and good leaders the kings were. You will also realize how the subtle influence of the Mysore royalty may have played its part in cultivating Kannadigas in to the gentle, cosmopolitan and culturally-oriented community we are.”

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Bengaluru / by Mahalakshmi P, TNN / September 26th, 2015

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