Dakshina Halasyam boasts of an old temple for Siva-Sundareswara and Meenakshi. This is said to be the birthplace of the child- goddess who later grew up as the valiant princess of Madurai. Apart from other shrines, this temple has an enclosure for navagraha - the nine planets. What is interesting here is that they can be seen with their consorts.

Swami Haridhos Giri chose Thennangur and made it a 'little temple town'. It is said that in Kaliyuga, God resides where there is nama sankeertanam, wherever His name is chanted. Swami Haridhos collected funds through nama sankeertana sessions conducted across the globe, and he developed this quiet hamlet into a place of pilgrimage. He built a lovely temple for Panduranga and his consort Raghumayi, with its spire based on the design of the Puri-Jagannatha temple. He also constructed a place of worship for the all-powerful Shodasakshari, a vrindavan for Sathguru Gnanananda, an ashram, and a spacious Nama Sankeertana Mandapam for devotees to congregate. This hall was the venue for most sessions of the three-day dance camp. After Haridhos Giri attained samadhi, a memorial has been erected for him too in the village.

Resource persons...
Prof. C.V. Chandrasekhar, renowned Bharatanatyam guru, was the convenor of Natya Sangraham for the fourth year in succession. The inaugural evening had speeches by him and R. Krishnaswami, Secretary of Natyarangam, Narada Gana Sabha, in which both underlined the need for dancers to adopt an integrated approach to dance and not look upon it as isolated from literature, music and the other fine arts.

The proceedings of the karyashala or workshop were broadly divided into the four aspects of abhinaya - angika, vachika, aharya and satvika. The resource persons this year were: E.R. Gopalakrishnan (yoga), Va.Ve. Su. (poetry appreciation), Kalyanapuram Aravamudan (lyrics and context), Adyar K. Lakshman (music and nattuvangam), Sethumadhavan (make-up), C.V. Chandrasekhar and Jaya Chandrasekhar (sareera and satvika abhinaya). The presence of dance guru V.P. Dhananjayan for a day as a guest, came in the form of a bonus to the participants. There were 23 participants, young as well as senior dancers and dance teachers from various dance schools.

It was a memorable experience for all when three gurus - Lakshman Sir, CVC and VPD sang, wielded the cymbals and danced in impromptu sessions, a rare treat indeed!

Yoga to tone you up...
The day started with a yoga session with E.R. Gopalakrishnan explaining and teaching breathing exercises, asanas, chanting, and relaxation techniques. The angika sessions focussed on two aspects: (1) Yoga, to create an awareness for toning up the body and mind, and (2) Bharatanatyam adavu workouts, under the eagle eye of Prof. CVC, where the emphasis was on maintaining good posture and attaining perfection at every step while performing the adavus or the basic units of the dance.

The vachika sessions were shared by Va.Ve.Su., K. Aravamudan and Adyar Lakshman. Popular poet and lyricist Va. Ve. Su. spoke about the difference between poetry and prose and explained how poetry had many layers - said and unsaid - which offered the reader a space to participate.

Well-known Harikatha exponent Aravamudan spoke about Bharatanatyam and Harikatha, and the need to understand the meaning and context of any composition. Guru Adyar Lakshman gave an introduction to carnatic music and also taught the dancers how to wield the cymbals and recite sollukattus.

Make-up that transforms an ugly duckling...
Sethumadhavan, the globe-trotting dance make-up expert whose magic touch can convert even an ugly duckling into a lovely swan, presented an interesting demo on the make-up aspect of aharya. And guess what, I was the guinea pig on whose face he applied various layers and shades to transform me into an Urvashi! He demonstrated and talked about skin tones, face shapes, colours, highlights and eye-shapes. I served as a 'chattering model with the mike' as I translated and proclaimed his trade secrets for the benefit of the dancers! Soon, it was the turn of one of the male dancers to be the hero-villain model for male make-up.

In the satvika abhinaya sessions, C.V. Chandrasekhar emphasised the need to maintain anga suddham and combine sareera abhinaya alongwith mukhaja abhinaya to bring out the best in satvika abhinaya. Both he and V.P. Dhananjayan gave demos and stressed the importance of involvement because satvika abhinaya cannot easily be explained but can only be experienced.

There were interactive sessions in the afternoon when the dancer-participants attempted to present in dance the poetry lines given to them by Va.Ve.Su. In the evening many dancers got an opportunity to perform short items for the audience which gathered in the Namasankeertana Mandapam.

An offering through dance...
Come 7.30 p.m. and it was a spiritual experience for all present. Each night ushered in a new experience. One evening it was Sesha Vahanam (Adisesha as vehicle) as the utsavamoorti was taken in procession round the temple and the dancers performed nritya seva to the strains of the nagaswaram and the beats of the tavil. The next night it was Oonjal Utsavam as the Lord sat on the swing in all His splendour with his two consorts, while the assembled devotees danced and sang. In the afternoon on the last day we had a chance to witness the celestial marriage of the 'Supreme Purusha' during the Kalyana Utsavam.

Before the camp drew to a close, there was a valedictory session when certificates were distributed to the participants. The bus ride both ways was enjoyable with the youngsters and the boisterous ones playing antakshari and the more 'serious' passengers cracking jokes, exchanging notes or simply catching up on their sleep. And of course, one cannot sign off without mentioning the sumptuous food served, it was simply superb!

Contact: Narada Gana Sabha, T.T. Road, Alwarpet, Chennai - 600 018. Ph: 24993201.

S. Janaki, who has written the above article is a committee member of Narada Gana Sabha's Natyarangam. She is also an active participant at this dance camp every year. You can write to her at jayes_vasan@yahoo.com