Mekala, a fusion of classical and modern dance
Kalasuri Desha Nethru Dr. Arunthathy Sri Ranganathan’s Aru Sri Art Theatre is ready with a new production, “Mekala”, a dance drama which is introduced to us as, ‘the dancer with a magic bowl, born a courtesan, who later lived a life of chastity and charity’.
Arunthathy Sri Ranganathan
Manimekala, the main character is the daughter of Kovalan, a rich merchant and Madavi the versatile court dancer. Born to a life as a courtesan, she however followed Buddhism in her later life and lived a life of chastity and charity. It is believed that she had visited Nagadeepa in Jaffna and since the Patthini cult has many followers here, Arunthathy had wanted to bring out the Sri Lankan element in this Tamil epic, a 30 canto poem written by the illustrious Tamil poet Ilango Adigal of the 2nd century AD.
The drama is performed by 50 professional freelance dancers. The music is largely Karnataka while elements of folk , Hindustani and contemporary music are also introduced. The dance forms include Karnataka, Bharatha Natyam, Kathakali, contemporary and even Kandyan dance movements. It’s a musical drama with a classical base and modern undertones, say Arunthathy adding that the costumes were made in both India and Sri Lanka.
The youngest of five girls and growing up watching her elder sisters succeed in music, Arunthathy says that music, dance and broadcasting were her passions from childhood. “I have been producing shows and performing in them since I was young and can count 150 to 200 shows not just in Sri Lanka but all around the world.”
After working at the Sri Lankan Broadcasting Corporation for 30 years and retiring as the director of the Tamil service, she formed the ‘Aru Sri Art Theatre’ in response to a request by the Norwegian Embassy with whom she had been organising ‘Harmony’, a music and dance show portraying the work of 62 artistic legends.
A performance of “Mekala” exclusively for HSBC will be held on October 30, while a public performance will be held on October 31 at the Bishop’s College Auditorium at 7 p.m. Entrance is by invitation only and can be reserved by contacting the theatre on 0774502506. Another public performance will be held at the Nelum Pokuna theatre on
November 19.