A Natyanjali in a village

Prof. Rama Kausalya, scholar and retired head of a state music college is native to the village of Thillastanam, near Thiruvaiyaru in Thanjavur.

She sent off a SOS message saying two dance groups were to perform at the Shiva temple in her village on Mahasivaratri evening.

So we drove down on Monday evening to the village by the Cauvery tributary, which is bone dry.

When we were here for the Thyagaraja aradhana, the bunds on this river had held up substantial water. Now, that volume seemed halved, the dry bed showing up with all the muck.

Sri Neiaddiappar Temple, where the lord gets an abishekam in pure ghee is said to be a very old temple, just off the road that links Thiruvaiyaru with the Grand Anaicut and Poondi and thence to the Tiruchi highway.

Prof Kausalya says the temple is mentioned in the Thevarams and was known in the 6th / 7th century times.

Two dancers of this village were recruits by Raja Raja to perform at Thanjavur, the deed now proofed in inscriptions here.

That evening, Kuchipudi dancers from Kochi, sishyas of guru Anupama performed first. Then, Chennai dancers T M Sreedevi and Deepthi Ravichandran led their group to perform.

The carpet spread on the temple floor served as the stage.

A simple neat Natyanjali that we witnessed this evening.

Watched by some 100 people of the village, with the professor introducing the dance heritage and the local histories of the audience.