Roja Kannan, along with her students, unravelled the intriguing aspects of Tiruchendur Murugan in ‘Theeraavinaitheerkum Thiruchendur’, in her carefully-crafted recital at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan.

The evening commenced with pushpanjali in raga Shanmukhapriya. Thiswas followed by a viruttam and Subramania kavuthuvam with verses from Thiruchendur Shanmuga Stotram. In each of these items, the synchronised movements of the dancers aligned perfectly with the jathi.

Murugan as Valli Kanavan was depicted through expressive abhinaya and gestures in the Ragamalika Shabdam. It was heartening to see the context being reinforced through the traditional margam.  

Parur Ananthashree and Sahana Selvaganesh, senior students of Bharatha Natyalaya, performed Lalgudi Jayaraman’s varnam in Nilambari raga, Adi tala, which celebrates Tiruchendur Murugan. The dancers touched upon the sthala purana of Thiruchendur and depicted how Muruga is worshipped by his devotees — observing fast and carrying the kavadi on their shoulders.  

The highlight was Roja Kannan’s soulful depiction of the story of Kumaraguruparar in Periyasami Thooran’s  song ‘Muruga muruga yenraal’ in Saveri raga, Misra Chapu tala. The story goes that Kumaraguruparar, who was a mute till he was five, was brought to Tiruchendur by his distraught parents, where he began to talk, believed to be due to the grace of Muruga. The panner elai vibhuthi of Thiruchendur cured Adi Sankarar and Vishwamitrar from their debilitating illnesses. These were portrayed through Adi Sankarar’s ‘Subramanya Bhujangam’ presented in Ragamaliga.

The concluding piece was a thillana in raga Tillang followed by Tiruppugazh. The orchestra included Roja Kannan and Parur M.S. Ananthashree (nattuvangam), Prithvi Harish (vocal), G. Vijayaraghavan (mridangam) and R. Kalaiarasan (violin).