An ancient town, Ayodhya is regarded as one of the seven sacred cities of the Hindus, revered due of its association with the great Indian epic  “RAMAYANA” and the birthplace of Lord Sri Rama. This program is a dedication to Ram-lalla by our students.

The first performance is Alarippu. Alarippu, is an invocatory item, the first piece usually performed in a traditional Bharatanatyam Margam. It serves as a warm-up, preparing the dancers for more difficult items ahead. Alarippu symbolizes the offering of respect to God, the Guru, and the Audience. 

Alarippu, which is to be presented in Mishra jati, a cycle of 7 beats with “Ramachandra Bhajan” sung in the background. Ramachandra Bhajan, a devotional song composed by Goswami Tulsidas celebrates Lord Rama, the seventh avatar of Lord Vishnu, the protector of the universe. Jai Sri Ram!

Thodaya Mangalam is a set of songs praising the divine qualities possessed by the God or Goddess and welcoming them. The one which is to be presented is in praise of Lord Rama, composed by Saint Purandaradasa in which he sings the glories of Lord Rama’s virtues. This is in Ragam Naatai set to Khanda Chaapu talam. 

The next item we will be presenting is Rama Dasharatha Rama. 

This is a keerthanam in ragam Gaula and is set to Adi Talam. This piece was composed by the 15th century poet, the legendary, Sri.Annamacharya. The keerthanam showcases the many names of Lord Rama addressing him as Sita’s husband, Dasharatha’s son, Kausalya’s child, the slayer of demons, the giver of boons and more.

The next item presented is a keerthanam. Keerthanam is an Abhinaya item, where lines of Sahithyam are interspersed with jathis and swaras during which the dancer executes different korvais (sets of adavus). Keerthanams include pallavi followed by charanams. The lines of Sahithyam are based on Puranas. The basic bhava of keerthanam is bhakti.

The keerthanam to be presented is,  Shri Rama Jayame Jayam which means “Victory to Lord Rama”. The mantram “Shri Rama Jayam” is a way of praising and invoking Lord Rama. Saying or writing Shri Rama Jayam can bring clarity and calmness to the mind. It is such a wonderful experience for the students to perform this song as the poet envisions the story of Ramayana starting from King Dasharatha and Putra Kameshti Yagam, to Rama’s 14-year exile in the forest, meeting Hanuman and Sugreeva, defeating Ravana and ending with the victory of Shri Rama and his coronation. He praises Rama, as the supreme lord in all ways possible. This particular piece gives the dancer a lot of scope for not only the abhinaya but also brings out their skills in nritta when they are doing the swaras.  Shri Rama Jayame Jayam is in ragamalika, set to aadi tala, composed by Oottukaadu Venkata Kavi. 

We will be starting the second half of our presentation with a kolattam. The word “kolattam” is two words put together, kol – meaning stick and attam is to play. It is a folk dance from South India that involves dancers moving two short wooden sticks in rhythm while singing a song.

Today’s kolattam is very special as it is performed by moms and their daughters. Most of our senior kids are in high school and college. Sooner or later, they might be moving on to pursue their academics in different places. By dancing with their moms, they are going to create a beautiful memory and it is their way to say ‘Thank you’ for encouraging them to learn this art for many years.

The upcoming item is a beautiful song composed by Sri.Purandaradasa. In this song, he takes us back in time to visualize the unseen final battleground scene in Ramayana.  After days of fighting, Ravana’s army is still strong. Rama’s kapi sena, the monkey army, shocked at the growing strength of the asuras, run away in fear from the battlefield. To win this fight, Rama realizes that he can no longer be a human, and takes his divine form to protect his people. The battle field transforms.   Everyone looks like Rama, the kapis, the asuras, the chieftains, the warriors…everyone is Rama.   You look there, you see Rama, (Alli nodalu Rama) you look here, next to you,  you see Rama,  ( Illi nodalu Rama )   Wherever you look, there you find Sri Rama. (Yellalli nodidaru alli Shri Rama).  Those who love Rama, see their neighbor as Rama, hug each other.  Those who dislike Him, the asuras kill each other. The army of Ravana is destroyed and Hanuman along with the army of monkeys rejoice the victory. This song is in ragam anandabhairavi, set to aadi talam.

Next, we present a bhajan by Sri. Bhadrachala Ramadas in ragam kalyani set to aadi talam.  In this bhajan, the poet sings and praises Lord Vishnu, describing his beauty and pleading him to protect. 

“Bhavayami Raghuramam” is a composition by Swathi Tirunal, the Maharaja of Travancore. This song in the language, Sanskrit, narrates the entire story of Ramayana.  The composition was originally in a single raga (Saaveri), set in Roopaka talam. After nearly 100 years, in the 20th century, the great doyen of carnatic music, Sri Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer set it in Ragamalika with intertwined chittaswarams and it was popularized by the incomparable artist, Smt. M.S. Subbulakshmi.

The pallavi and anupallavi are set in Saaveri, followed by six stanzas each in a different raga (namely Nattukuranji, Dhanyasi, Mohanam, Mukhari, Poorvi-Kalyani ending with the Mangalam in Madhyamavati), each describing one of the Cantos of Ramayana (namely Bala Kandam, Ayodhya Kandam, Aranya Kandam, Kishkinda Kandam, Sundara Kandam and Yuddha Kandam).

This is the culminating piece, which will be followed by mangalam.