Navarasas through the eyes of Sita

CHENNAI: Friday evening at Narada Gana Sabha was a celebration of a rich heritage with Rasa Ratnakaraha. The dance-drama was part of the 80th birthday celebration of Kalaimamani Rukmini Ramani. The chief guest of the event was the Governor of Tamil Nadu, Banwarilal Purohit. 

Rukmini Ramani is a musician, composer, musicologist, lyricist, and passionate teacher. She is the daughter of Papanasam Sivan. Speaking about the dance drama, the artistic director, Deepa Ganesh said, “Rasa Ratnakaraha was first performed in 2001 in Dubai at the early stages of both Upasana — my 25-year-old art organisation — and Rukmini Ramani’s dance-drama writing journey. It was interesting to revisit after two decades to reflect on this with reference to sustained legacy and change. The lyrics and music for the dance drama were by Rukmini Ramani and guidance by upanyasakar Sri Sundarakumar.”

Rasa Ratnakaraha explored the universality of human emotions, Navarasa, through the eyes of Sita. Most of the dancers who performed were amateurs. “We had 16 rehearsal sessions. Some of the children learned the Ramayana only during these days. Some children had performed in the first version in 2001. For example, The child who played deer Maricha then donned the role of Rama in this production. The person who played the role of Sita was performing in a dance production like this for the first time. It’s a wonderful experience to see the children grow and evolve not only as human beings but also as artistes,” said Deepa.

Deepa’s childhood memories impacted her thought process for the dance drama. Her first significant project reflected her late grandfather MH Gopalakrishnan’s oft-quoted stories and verses from Ramayana, her late music teacher Rukmini Rajagopalan’s music sensibilities along with late dance teachers Adayar Lakshman and Kalanidhi Narayanan’s choreographic styles. This production reflected a combined cultural, social and artistic legacy of 1915 to 2015. 

Interestingly, the lyrics and music composed by Rukmini Ramani also closely reflected the panache of her father, Papanasam Sivan. Rasa Ratnakaraha focuses on inclusivity and outreach, and has something for the artistically and culturally uninitiated novice and experts. As fifteen dancers negotiate their roles, both individually and as a group, they break personal barriers, overcome limitations, and pursue excellence. This is a story of celebrating and carrying forward our past into the future by investing in our present,” 
she added.