A unique journey thro' divine music and dance

Mekala, a dance drama, will be staged at the Bishop's College Auditorium on October 31 and November 1. Presented by the Aru Sri Art Theatre it is produced and directed by Kalasoori Deshanethru Dr. Arunthathy Sri Ranganathan.

The title Mekala, an abbreviation of Manimekalai, written by the Tamil Buddhist poet Seethalai Chaathanaar presents beautiful episodes of one of the five great epics of Tamil literature portraying the social, religious, cultural and academic life of the people during the early era of Tamil literary growth such as the Silapathikaram, Civaka Cintamani, Valayapathi and Kundalakeshi.

The story of Manimekalai is a sequel to Silapathikaram written by the illustrious Tamil poet Ilango Adigal of the 2nd century AD.

Silapathikaram revolves around virtuous Kannagi who having lost her husband Kovalan to a miscarriage of justice at the court of the Pandya King wreaks her revenge on his kingdom. Kannagithe Paththini Goddess is worshipped in India and Sri Lanka as Paththini Deiyo. The introduction of the Paththini cult by King Gajabahu 11 in Sri Lanka is not a myth.

Epic

In contrast, Manimekalai tells with religious undertones, the story of the daughter of Kovalan and Madavi who though born a courtesan, dared to lead a life of chastity and charity. As a continuation of Silapathikaram the epic describes how Mekala the beautiful daughter of Kovalan and Madavi (the versatile court dancer) converts to Buddhism.

Manimekalai is a poem in 30 cantos. The epic gives much information on the history of Tamil Nadu, Buddhism and its place during that period, contemporary arts and culture and the customs of the times. The exposition of the Buddhist doctrine in the poem deals elegantly with the Four Noble Truths, dependent origination, mind and Buddhist practices such as virtue and non-violence.

Mekala later became a dedicated Buddhist nun.

The story is written around the harbour town of Kaveri Pattinam, the modern town Puhar in Tamil Nadu and Nainathevu (Naga Deepa), a small sandy island off the Jaffna peninsula.

The epic is rich, complex, dense and bursting with life, intellectual and cultural energy. The ballet opens with a flashback from Silapathikaram wherein Madavi recollects her life with Mekala's father Koyalan. Having set the context the ballet on Manimekalai's life story opens in episodes dwelling mostly on aspects of the performing arts.

Madavi has performed 11 varieties of dances in her Arangetram which is described in detail in Silapathikaram.

The producer has chosen a variety of dance styles to justify the exceptional talent of Madavi to give a touch of variation and glamour to the production. Choreography has been done primarily in Bharatha Natyam style with flavours from Kathakali, Kathak, Odyssey, Mohini, Kuchipudi, Kalari, folk, contemporary and Sri Lankan Kandyan dance forms.

The splendid merging of the different music compositions in Carnatic, Hindustani, folk and contemporary styles with a variety of dance styles is unique.