Silapathigaram – A Dance Musicals Gallery
Mediaone Presents Silapathigaram
SILAPATHIGARAM – a dance musical, a fun-filled adventure featuring classic, folk and contemporary dance activities with rich, colourful costumes along with the opportunity to experience spectacular stage settings from famous art directors of Chennai.
Featuring: Madurai R Muralidaran, Chithra Muralidaran, Uma Muralikrishna, Lavanya Shankar, Priyadarshini (Sun TV fame) Binesh Mahadevan, Shivakumar,
Concept, music, choreography & direction: Natya Perarasu .Madurai R Muralidaran & Chithra Muralidaran
Dates: May 24 – 27, 2010
Venue: Music Academy, Chennai, India
Time: 7 to 9pm
Silapathigaram, the story of Jeweled Anklets, is based on one of the immortal stories in Tamil literature and is rooted in the ordinary lives of the early Tamils of the Pandyan Kingdom in the first century AD. It is regarded by many as the national epic of the Tamil people. Most of the songs are adapted from the works of Elango Adigal, the author, who is known for his poetic brilliance. On par with this, Madurai R Muralidaran has also interwoven his lyrical skill to bring out the essence of beauty and magnetism of the subject, thus retaining the flavor of the traditional concept and also accommodating to the needs of today with innovative music and choreography.
The story begins with the title song of Silapathigaram written by Elango Adigal. The happy times shared by Kovalan and his spouse Kannagi is portrayed vividly. Then comes the entry of Madhavi from where Kovalan’s distractions with her, begins. He is unable to resist the beauty, talent and charm of Madhavi and forgets his wife Kannagi. He is enraptured by Madhavi and captivated by her, settles down with her to a life filled with dance, poetry and music. He also fathers her child born as a result of their union.
Madhavi’s skill as a dancer is showcased in the Indira Vizha, the annual festival in the Chola Kingdom. She is a versatile dancer who is adept in 11 different styles of dance. Her scintillating performance captures the heart of all the spectators. Fate, the inevitable intruder, intervenes in the blissful life of Madhavi after this festival. On the banks of Cauvery, the lovers are lost in each other’s company. The beauty of the moon, the gentle breeze from the seashore intoxicates the senses of Kovalan. He sings in admiration of nature but Madhavi, thinking that he is singing about another woman, counters his song with her own and sings about a non-existing lover. This infuriates the possessive Kovalan and he leaves her in a fit of rage.
Madhavi is shattered that Kovalan has left her forever. She is disillusioned and follows the Buddhist monk to find peace and tranquility. Kannagi gives Kovalan her anklet to sell when he returns to her. Reluctantly he takes it and goes to a goldsmith who is dealing with gold ornaments in the city of Madurai. In the meantime, the queen’s anklet is given to Porkollan to be repaired. He takes advantage of the situation and plans to steal it. When Kovalan arrives at his doorstep with an anklet similar to that of the queen, he decides to blame Kovalan for stealing the queen’s anklet. He manipulates this and informs the king that Kovalan is the culprit. This enrages the king and he orders Kovalan’s execution.
When Kannagi hears this, she is outraged and proceeds to the king’s court in a state of shock, disbelief, sorrow and anger. She proves her husband’s innocence by throwing and breaking her other anklet which splits into pieces scattering precious gems. The queen’s anklet had pearls in them while hers had precious gems.
The king unable to accept that he has wronged this chaste woman, dies on the spot. Kannagi’s wrath turns into an incorrigible fire and torches Madurai city into ashes. She is worshipped even today as a Goddess who stood upright to bring justice to her innocent husband.
Silapathigaram – A Dance Musicals Photo Gallery
