Madurai Muralidharan’s unique margams

It was the fantastic world of rhythm that fascinated Madurai R Muralidaran early on in life as a student of dance and music, and it is that passion which has motivated him to travel uncharted paths. ‘Chaturvidham’ a three-day offering by Muralidaran and his Natyakshetra Dance Academy, was yet another step forward in his journey filled with many accomplishments.

Each of the four performances was conceptualised as a creative set of pieces of a Bharatnatyam Margam, set to four different tala cycles — Sankeerna Jathi Triputa talam, Misra Jathi Jumpa talam, Chatusra Jathi Ata talam and Sankeerna Jathi Dhruva talam. A remarkable attempt indeed.

Muralidaran embarked on this mammoth task of creating a complete ‘Pushpanjali to Thillana’ repertoire in each of the 35 talas based on our tala system — Sooladi Saptha Talas. He has conceptualised, written and composed music and jathi for all the 35 talas. Translating this creative work from a script form onto the concert stage, he has successfully choreographed and presented 11 Margams, taking the tally to 15 with Chaturvidham.

“It was a truly challenging process from understanding each tala and figuring out where to take the karvais. Then I had the task of setting the jathis to go with the rhythmic cycle, writing lyrics that were flawless literally and compose music to fit into the rhythmic cycle, training musicians for the recording, and finally translating the whole process into a visual expression by choreographing each item. The real test was communicating it to my disciples,” said Muralidharan. The students did not let him down. They learnt the songs and the jathis and worked rigorously for months until they internalised the entire Margam. So it was with elan that each presented what was entrusted to her. As T.N. Seshagopalan said in his speech, “All the effort that goes into a creation should be the artiste’s experience but what actually translates for the audience should be an enjoyable experience without the intimidating technicalities. It should be like a smooth Ferrari ride, the rider oblivious of its speed. Chaturvidham was a Ferrari ride.”

Coming under the tutelage of Chamundeeswari for dance and Madurai T Sethuraman for music, Murali recalls the turning point when Sethuraman sir asked him to learn mridangam from his brother Madurai T Srinivasan popularly known as Cheena Kutty sir, a key player in Ilaiyaraja’s troupe and composer of the popular song ‘Karunai Deivame Karpagame.’ I used to write jathis without karvais and he simplified the mathematical process and made me understand the concept of various permutations and combinations. This training helped me master the art of writing notations for jathis and look beyond the regular talams. Srinivasan taught me how to compose for an Alarippu. Soon I was composing an Alarippu in each of the 35 talas.

Gaining courage, he embarked on another dream project and its fruition into reality, with the publication of Nritta Lahiri — a compilation of Jathiswarams in 72 Melakarta Ragas. “It is an incredible feat,” said the late M.V. Narasimhachari, composer, musician and choreographer himself. “The great Mahavaidyanatha Aiyar was credited with a unique composition in the 72 mela ragamalika. M. Balamuralikrishna composed kritis in all the 72 Melakarta ragas at the age of 14. Perhaps it is Muralidaran who now takes the credit of being the next on this list with his remarkable contribution,’’ he had observed.

Muralidharan, who graduated in Tamil literature from Pachaiyappa’s College, is a die hard fan of Bharathiar for his fiery writing and Kamal Haasan for his unusual thought process. “I’m keen on ‘edugai monai’ and take care to avoid ‘Ilakkiya Pizhai’ (grammatical errors). Says Muralidharan: “I have composed songs on women’s empowerment and other issues. I have always used traditional ragas such as Arabhi, Kalyani, Bihag, Bilahari and Nasikabhushani in my compositions.” Murali now takes complete charge of his productions donning the roles of a composer, lyricist, jathi composer and choreographer. “Muralidharan should be described as a Vaggeyakara, a term that would do justice to his competence in lyric and musical input set in the appropriate rhythmical structure thereby defining his skill in totality,” says Nandini Ramani.

Muralidaran holds the record for composing and releasing more than 120 audio-albums of his compositions, many of which are used by leading dancers and teachers. What saddens him is that often it is not acknowledged in announcements.

He has also produced Natya Nadakams on varied themes, including ‘Sivagamiyin Sabadham’ with 120 artistes. He has been conferred the ‘Natya Siromani’ title by the Chennai (Nungambakkam) Cultural Academy. The success of Chaturvidham has come as a shot in the arm for Muralidharan, who has more exciting plans for the future.