A dance production with the man as protagonist  

‘Ashtanayakan’, a unique production, was based on eight poems that presented the male perspective 

‘Adhuvum solluval, yarukkagilum bhayama’ and many more padams like these portraying a nayika pining for love and the emotions of anger, jealousy, dejection, anticipation, are the staple of a classical dance repertoire. There are hardly any compositions that talk about the feelings of the nayaka.

This thought rankled Nirmala Nagaraj when teaching the many male students in her dance class at Kalakshetra. She was keen to have padams that present the male perspective. Nirmala, who has been writing poems from her student days, chose a few poems from her collection and conceived ‘Ashthanayakan’, a performance that featured eight male dancers that was held at Kalakshetra.

“I composed a padam, ‘Magizh Maaran’, in 2016. It showed the reaction of a man to a swadeenapatika (one who experiences the pleasure of love) nayika. The positive response of senior gurus and my contemporaries and students to this song, encouraged me to compose a few more,” says Nirmala, who attributes the idea also to her Phd on Sangam literature, which has songs on men.

Young and talented musician, Abhilash Venkitachalam, has composed the music for the padams chosen for ‘Ashtanayakan’.

'Vazhi meedu vizhi vaittu kattruppen' says the hero, Haripadman, in his teens, who is awaiting the arrival of his beloved. The dancer explores the simple joys of holding her hands and playing with her. The scene that shows him feeling embarrased when he encounters a group of giggling friends stood out for the way Haripadman shrinks his broad shoulder.

‘She stole my heart and left me pining for her’ is the essence of the composition, ‘Viraha thuyar naathan’. A. Janardhanan’s delineation of shringaram laced with the ‘vedanai’ of separation was a dignified and masterly portrayal. Happy memories and the pathos of separation with imageries of a bright moon, cool breeze and Manmatha’s arrows come alive in a poetic manner, aided by the use of Abheri raga. The veteran dancer conveyed the emotions through his body language and facial expressions.

Vasantha was the raga chosen to express the anger felt by ‘Vanchina maraimuga vaanan’ danced by P.T. Narendra. Born out of experiencing deceit in love, the dancer portrayed the feeling sensitively. He used many suitable sancharis.