As the curtain rises on the festival showcasing the 500-year-old Bhagwat Mela Natakam, the stage will once again witness the coming together of history and culture.
As the curtain rises on the festival showcasing the 500-year-old Bhagwat Mela Natakam, the stage will once again witness the coming together of history and culture.
The Cauvery delta is not only the granary of Tamil Nadu, but it is also the place where civilization and culture flourished. Dance, music and theater performances are as popular as the area’s painting, craft and architecture. Art is an integral part of history here, with successive dynasties – the Cholas, Nayaks and Marathas – being great patrons.
The Kaveri river has made the land fertile and the region prosperous. Post-harvest season, summers are filled with temple festivals that celebrate the rich heritage of Thanjavur. Folk and classical dance and music are performed on these festivals as offerings to the deity. Every village once had its own Therukuthu troupe, whose colorful and energetic performances added to the fervor of the festivities. Folk arts are on the verge of extinction, very few such groups now exist.
But one annual event that has managed to keep the performance culture alive in this area is the Bhagwat Mela Natakam. Poor documentation has made it difficult to trace the history of ancient art forms that were mainly oral traditions. It takes painstakingly collating pieces of information from different sources to present a complete picture. I am fortunate to have interacted with stalwarts of the region like Ganesh Iyer, ‘Sutradhar’ Krishnamurthy Sharma and many others from Melattur village.
From ‘Prahlad Charitam’. Photo Credit: Srinath M
After the fall of the Vijayanagara Empire, many Natyacharyas, scholars, artists and musicians took refuge in the Thanjavur court. King Achyutappa Nayaka (1577–1614) patronized them and they settled in the adjoining villages of Melattur, Saliyamangalam, Sulamangalam, Theperumanallur and Oothukkadu. They were well taken care of so that they could pursue their art.
Melattur, formerly known as Unnathapuram, was called Achyutapuram or Achyutabdi by these artists as a mark of respect and gratitude to the king. The village was home to great musicians like Bharatam Kasinadayya, Melattur Veerabhadrayya, Bharatam Narayana and Gopalakrishna Sastri. Bharatanatyam repertoire pieces – Alarippu, Sabadam, Swarajathi, Pada Varnam, Tilana – were first conceived and composed at Melattur.
Narayana Tirtha’s disciple Melattur Gopalakrishna Sastri also composed plays. His son Venkatarama Sastri was a great scholar, well versed in music and dance. He wrote the current Bhagwat Mela dance plays, dedicating them to Lord Varadaraja. ‘Mela’ means group, and Bhagwat Mela Natak means performance organized by a group of Bhagwats. It is said that he wrote 12 plays, trained local boys in all aspects of drama and staged them in front of the Varadaraja Perumal temple. her Prahlad Charitmu is very popular, that’s why devramPresented in two parts.
Famous musicians and musicians of that time used to attend the festival. The influence of Bhagwat Mela is evident in Thyagaraja’s opera Prahlad Bhakti Vijayam,
After the demise of Venkatarama Sastri, the drama tradition continued till 1855. The end of Maratha rule and other factors affected the art form and eventually, the performances stopped.
Music forms from Dharu to Dwipadai form an integral part of this art form. Venkatarama Sastri’s mastery over music comes through his brilliant use of several ragas. Raga Ghanta assumes a different flavor in the Bhagavata fair, and is known as Melattur Ghanta. A gentle melody Devagandhari was chosen for Hiranyakashipu’s entry, while the striking Atana was chosen for Lilavati. Pravesham (entrance). In the 1970s, Veeraraghavan and Thirukkarugavoor Srinivasa Raghavan took over the music for the plays. Veeraraghavan’s Nilambari, Ritigovala, Sindhu Bhairavi and Srinivasa Raghavan’s singing of Kanad used to be the talk of the town.
From ‘Harishchandra’. Photo Credit: Rajrathinam RM
In 1938, Melattoor V. Ganesh Iyer (Mellattur S. Natarajan and Kumar’s grandfather) revived the annual program with the help of Balu Bhagavatar (natyacharya), Ramani Iyer (Nattuvangam) and Gopal Iyer (music). Over the years, he had to face many challenges and difficulties to continue this. He also had to sell his land and other valuables. Ganesh Iyer’s son G. Swaminathan was coached along with other boys in the village, and played the lead male roles.
A masterful actor, Swaminathan played every role with equal finesse and ease, be it a flourishing Hiranyakashipu, a calm Harishchandra or the humorous mother of Devadevi. Despite the dire financial crunch, Ganesh Iyer ensured that those who came to watch the demonstration did not go home empty stomach. Swaminathan’s son Natarajan was cast at the age of five and excelled in portraying female roles like Leelavati. Prahlad CharitmuChandramati Inn Harishchandra, and in Yashoda Kamasavdham:, Swaminathan’s second son, Kumar took over the all-male leadership once played by his father.
In the 1950s, E. Krishna Iyer helped the troupe get government grants, apart from giving his valuable suggestions and writing articles to popularize the art. A scholar and historian Mohan Khokar also followed suit.
Natarajan, who worked hard to maintain the tradition, passed away in October 2020, when he was preparing to celebrate the 80th year of Melattur Bhagavata Mela Natya Natak Sangam. The musicians and artistes of the group sang Melattoor S. Kumar, who with his wonderful dancers (Venkatasubramanian, Srikanth, Aravind, Vijay Madhavan and Prasanna), singers (Thiruvayaru Brothers – Narasimhan and Venkatesan, and Prabhakaran) and musicians (violin) Maestro Andan Koil Durai, mridanga player Nagai Sriram, Shuddha Madalam and ganjira artist Kannan Balakrishnan, and fluteist Mukundan) have put together the 2022 edition.
“The festival is important on many levels. It is about taking forward the vision of my grandfather, father and brother. It is also about keeping alive a unique and rich artistic tradition that has put Melattur on the global cultural map,” says Kumar as he gears up for the week-long festivities.
overnight program
Banana tree trunks were planted in queues before electricity came. They were cut in half their size from above and earthen lamps were placed on them. High density iluppa annai (oil extracted from mahua seeds) was used to keep the lamps burning throughout the night.
line up
Today, there are two factions staging Bhagavata Mela plays in Melattur – the Melattur Bhagavata Mela Natya Natak Sangam, headed by Kumar, and the Bhagavata Mela Natya Vidya Sangam, headed by Mahalingam (Mali). Vidya Sangam staged demonstrations on 14 and 15 May, and also released a book titled Krishna Jannami, Melattoor Kumar will stage and present plays from today to May 27 Prahlad Charitam, devram (two parts), Sita’s Statute And Valli Thirumanam,
The author is a musician based in Thiruvaiyaru.