A natya natakam written by vidushi Rukmini Ramani with original music composed by Rajkumar Bharati was accompanied by Bharatanatyam choreography under the direction of senior Bharatanatyam dancer Lakshmi Ramaswamy, founder of Sri Mudraalaya, Chennai.  Sundarakandam, the dance drama was a visual treat. Artistic legacy and veterans in music had come together many years ago to create this musical spectacle, which has been presented in Tamil Nadu, multiple times over the years. The musical was brought alive as a Bay Area premiere in Sunnyvale jointly under Nrityakalya and Natyashakti school banners. Lakshmi Ramaswamy, a recipient of several awards and a former Fulbright scholar to the US, has steadily built her reputation in the field of classical dance with a substantial body of work. Among her many creations, Sundarkandam stands out as a significant milestone.

The presentation opened with invocations to Hanuman and swiftly moved through key episodes—his entry into Lanka, impressions of the city, encounters with Lankini, Indrajit, Kumbhakarna, Vibheeshana, and the rakshasis at Asoka vanam. After reassuring Sita of his identity, Hanuman offered to take her back, but she insisted Rama must come and vanquish Ravana. Allowing himself to be captured, Hanuman was brought before Ravana, who ordered his tail set on fire—only for Hanuman to burn the city while remaining unharmed by Sita’s blessings. The narrative concluded with Hanuman returning to Rama with Sita’s chudamani and message, setting the stage for Yuddha Kandam. A brisk tillana by 12 senior dancers was a grand finale to the 95-minute ode to Hanuman. 

Few choreographic images that stood out were - the seamless double role of veera Hanuman and vinaya Hanuman (aptly switched back and forth by Reshma Rajiv and Sukanya Kumar), Ravana’s (Janani Narayan) entry behind a screen, led by his entourage, his dialogue with Sita (Soumya Tilak), Sita’s flashback, and the mirror image of Sita reminiscing while Hanuman simultaneously recounted Rama-Sita love story.

Though the performance was set to recorded music, the musical finesse shone through in the seamless and swift raga transitions rendered by the vocalists, Nandini Anand and Veeraraghavan. The brisk jatis for Ravana (with unique sollus), for the rakshasas and for the monkeys were composed by Guru Bharadwaj. Energetic recitation of the sollukattus by  Jayashree Ramanathan added weight to the nritta portions. Lyrical elegance and simplicity made the songs easy to follow for Tamil audiences. Additional English superscript on the overhead screen was helpful for non-dancers and non-Tamil folks.  

Veshti in black and white with subtle colour angavastram changes showed each character's persona. Moving from black and white to multicolour angavastrams was an indication of Sita’s life which had started to show promise of reunion with Rama.  

A sold-out matinee (with a subsequently added evening show on demand), Sundarakandam got a standing ovation and was a fitting tribute to the hardworking team, which (like their hero Hanuman) literally worked across oceans to pull this show together. 

Other senior dancers who came together were: Apoorva Sastry, Awani Gadre, Divyaa Thellore, Girija Anand, Mathangi Iyer, Nikita Sreekanth, Sadhvi Narayanan, Sowmitha Balasunderraj, Supriya Sudhakar, Tvisha Joysula, Varsha Sankar along with young team:  Shreekavini Anand with Nrithyakalya students: Harini, Lasya, Neeraja, Rohini, Ruhi, Tharini and Vanshuli. 

by

Shobha Subramanian

(the author is a dancer, singer, choreographer and a teacher)