Sridevi Nrithyalaya’s new work explores the nine modes of bhakti through dance

Sridevi Nrithyalaya’s dance production, ’Siva Nava Bhakthi’ premiered at Vani Mahal, T. Nagar.

The dance brought out the essence of the nine bhakti muraigal 
| Photo Credit:
VELANKANNI RAJ B.

Based on Veda Vyasa’s Shiva Mahapuranam, the dance-drama explored the nine modes of bhakti, specified in the Sati Kandam of the ‘Shivapuranam’. It is here that Siva narrates to Parvathi the nine simple yet profound paths of bhakti—Sravanam, Keerthanam, Smaranam, Paadha Sevanam, Archanam, Vandhanam, Dhaasyam, Sakhyam, and Aanma Nivedhanam.

Each mode was brought to life through moving stories of devotees — Karaikaal ammaiyaar, Nandanar and Kannappar — reflecting Shravana bhakti, Vandana bhakti and aatma samarpana bhakti, respectively, amongst others.  

The dance commenced with Shivagyana bodha sutram, where in the narrators introduced the subject, drawn from various Sanskrit and Tamil literature works. This was followed by the depiction of the nine forms of bhakti The cohesive narration of the sutradaras wove together the nine stories with ease. 

Each scene began with Thirumoolar’s Thirumandiram 
| Photo Credit:
VELANKANNI RAJ B

Each scene began with Tirumoolar’s Thirumandiram and a silhouette of the Shivalingam on a screen. The lighting effectively set the mood, highlighting the emotional tones of the characters. The seamless transition from one story to another, helped amalgamate the content of the entire production. In the grand finale, the main characters of all the stories came together with one unified call, ‘Bhakti Seivom, Shiva, Padam Adaivom’ (Let’s pray together to be one with Shiva).

Choreographed by Sheela Unnikrishnan, music by Embar Kannan, it had script by Shobha Korambil, who brought out the devotional element in each character. The lyrics, drawn from celebrated Tamil devotionals texts, were compiled by Prof. S. Raghuraman, who also penned a few verses.

The production concluded with a unified call — ‘Bhakti Seivom, Shiva, Shiva Padam Adaivom’.
| Photo Credit:
VELANKANNI RAJ B

While the 57 dancers performed their roles  with utmost sincerity and  devotion, dancers — Mrinalini Sivakumar as Nandanar, Kameshweri Ganesan as Gurudruhan, Bhairavi Venkatesan as Kannappa Nayanar, Ajani Ajay as baby Punitavathi and Harshini as Yama — captivated the attention of the audience completely.

 The costumes were in perfect harmony with the overall artistic vision.