The imposing 216-foot-tall granite vimanam of Brihadeeswara Temple, a grand edifice built by Raja Raja Chola I, today stands like a silent sentinel overlooking Thanjavur, the ancient city that defines the life and philosophy of Tamizh .

What Benaras is to the north as an axis of culture, Thanjavur is to the south. Thus, after the festival marking the 75th anniversary of Indian independence which was held in Kasi, the IGNCA (Indira Gandhi National Center for the Arts) decided to organize a similar event on this site in the south of world heritage recognized by UNESCO.

The festival, titled “Thanjavur Utsavam of Iyal, Isai and Natakam”, (February 11-13) was organized by eminent dancer-scholar and IGNCA administrator Padma Subrahmanyam, whose personal career in the art is deeply linked to the history, art and architecture of the city. His pioneering research on karanas as depicted in the carvings of Brihadeeswara Temple, Sarangapani Temple (Kumbakonam) and Nataraja Temple (Chidambaram), and their reconstruction was a significant contribution to Bharatanatyam vocabulary.

Padma Subrahmanyam | Photo credit: GANESAN V

Talking about the process of creating a festival that will reflect the many dimensions of Thanjavur, Padma says: “It was extremely difficult to present it in just three days. The attempt was to capture the vast cultural landscape of the city. In addition to dance and music concerts, we also explore its rich past through lectures and seminars.

Padma’s connection to Thanjavur, particularly the Brihadeeswara temple, was strengthened when she spent many days in the karana chamber, located on the first level of the vimanam, as part of her research. “The chamber, which contains 81 of the 108 karanas, was discovered in 1956 by an employee of the Archaeological Survey of India while removing weeds. They show Shiva in the dancing posture. The Deputy Director General of the ‘ASI of the time, TN Ramachandran, identified these carvings as karanas depicted in the Natya Sastra Interestingly, when Raja Raja Chola had these karanas carved, far away in Kashmir, Abhinavagupta wrote his commentary on the Natya Sastra, the only available today on the monumental work,” explains Padma.

The room, which over the years has remained closed to visitors, will be reopened on the last day of the festival for a few hours by ASI, the event’s partner with the Center Culturel Zone Sud. Padma is thrilled to be back in her “research and learning lab” to conduct a brief lect-dem with her students to explain the karanas.

Veteran guru Bharatanatyam T. Herambanathan, who belongs to the nattuvanar family of Thanjavur, says such festivals are important in shining the spotlight on traditional dance practitioners. “Otherwise, how do you preserve the identity of an art form and the city where it evolved? he asks.

On the opening day of the festival, the sishyas of Herambanathan will perform melaprapti and alarippu, while he will perform a lec-dem on ‘Thanjuvar bani adavus’ on the closing day. “With an easy change in style today, the bani may have lost its relevance, but there’s no denying that it gives a distinct character to his dance. For example, the bani of Thanjavur is defined by anga suddham, nidhanam, and kalapramanam,” he says.

This is where the Thanjai Naalvar (Thanjavur Quartet), the Ponniah brothers, Chinniah, Sivanandam and Vadivelu, established the Bharatanatyam performance structure by setting up a repertoire or margam. “We continue to tap into their precious treasure of jathiswaram, sabdam, padam, javali, varnam and thillana. Each piece has been staged so impeccably that it is painful to watch dancers tamper with it. I hope that through such festivals we can preserve this heritage,” says Herambanathan.

One of the lect-dems, aptly titled ‘Art as a way of life in Thanjavur’, will be presented by 72-year-old academic Rama Kausalya. Having lived in the city all her life, she says: “We are fortunate to have been ruled by the culture-loving Cholas, Nayaks and Marathas who have made art an intrinsic part of life. daily. One reason why Thanjavur not only boasted eminent artists but also passionate rasikas.

She mentions how Raja Raja Chola brought Thevaram manuscripts from Chidambaram temple and employed odhuvars (Swaminathan and Sadgurunathan Odhuvars will perform at the festival) to sing at Brihadeeswara temple. He also had 400 accomplished dancers (whose names are inscribed on the temple wall) who performed daily at the temple.

But art in Thanjavur has never been limited to classical. Leaders exposed people to a myriad of genders. “Bharatanatyam, Bhagavata Mela, Yakshagana, Harikatha, Carnatic music (nearby Thiruvaiyaru was home to the Trinity of Composers), Abhang and Therukoothu continue to co-exist here,” she says.

King Serfoji II went further and introduced European music. His deep involvement with him led him to start a full-fledged European wind band in Thanjavur, which was very popular at one time.

It is this confluence of cultures that the three-day utsavam hopes to highlight along the banks of the Cauvery.