Remembering legendary Rabindranath Tagore

Chandalika’, the masterpiece of Rabindranath Tagore (Gurudev), which reverberates his intention, was presented as a Kuchipudi ballet by renowned Saila Sudha Academy to mark the Gurudev’s 150th birthday.Saila Sudha, an academy known for its quality productions, staged the mammoth vibrant production ‘Chandalika’ for the Music Academy. It brought out the regenerative image common in many religious traditions. Chandalika was presented, with effusion of songs and dance, capturing the universal human touch. It effectively underlined the Buddhist divergence from Hindu orthodoxy wherein Gurudev intertwined the ideological revolution of his times. When evils of the caste system, untouchability and the feeling of superiority of a section of humans were prevalent, ‘Chandalika’, the eternal symbol of man’s inhuman nature and untouchability, was introduced through Kalaimamani Sailaja. The expressive presentation brought out with amiable ease, the  perfection of a format and content. The core of the presentation was when they revealed the different variants of imaginative flights. That was what drew the full-throated appreciation of the audience at the packed Music Academy.The Buddhist Ananda’s request ‘give me water’, besides indicating his physical need, symbolised water’s regenerative image and the awakening of prakritis. The awareness of one’s own innate self exhibited by Maya (Chandalika’s mother) and the initiation of ‘Chandalika’ to Buddha Dharma, and the disciples’ participation with poignant sublimity, evoking entrancing, situational expositions, revealed a creative flair. The earnestness of the orchestra, the musical ensemble led by vocalist Veeraraghavan and Nattuvangam Latha, to establish harmony with melodic structures, and flawless laya, helped the progression of the presentation.[email protected]