There are 12 natakas in the Bhagavatha mela repertoire, all written and set to music by Venkatarama Sashtri, who lived before saint-composer Thyagaraja. The music and dance have been passed from generation to generation unchanged. The words of the songs are in telugu, but is different from the perceived lingo today. These natakas are staged once a year as a temple ritual during the month of May on Narasimha Jayanthi in Melattur, Tamil Nadu. The Bhagavatha Mela natakas play through the night, from about 10p.m. until about 4a.m., with the whole village watching. Hitherto restricted to male Brahmins of that particular descent, the paucity of male dancers has led to some easing out of their admission. Today, any male Brahmin dancer is welcome.

Srikanth gave us a glimpse of this tradition at Bharat Kalachar, Chennai during the Margazhi Mahotsav, in the presence of his now aged teacher, Krishnamurthy Sharma. Having specialized in this, he picked out feminine characters from different natakas in a programme titled ‘Soundarya Manjari’. He chose to portray women in different stages of their lives from an adolescent, to a young maiden, to a family woman, to a Goddess…. The characters of Sita, a Mathanga kanya, Devaki, Chandramathi, and Bhoomadevi were chosen for detailing. An additional feature was the authentic music. The singers were from Melattur: the Tiruvaiyaru brothers, Narasimhan and Venkatesan. The rest of the melodious orchestra had Vijayaraghavan on the mridangam, Kalaiarasan on the violin, and Vijay Madhavan with the nattuvangam.

Opening with Sita as a young maiden, the tale moves to a Mathanga kanya, a young beautiful damsel created by sage Viswamitra to entice King Harishchandra. The girl uses her feminine wiles to lure him away from the path of truth. Srikanth as this woman was suitably coy and coquettish. The dancer being unselfconscious makes all the difference to the portrayal. As the kanya declares her love for the king, one is left wondering whether to be amused or appreciate the total lack of inhibition.

Srikanth’s journey into the dark and sometimes mysterious female psyche began with a very pregnant Devaki, who is suffering physically from labour pains and mentally from the memory of the cruel acts of Kamsa who killed her previous seven newborn babies. The feelings were too intense for an item that was meant to last less than five minutes and for one sans a storyline. Back to Harischandra again. He is now in the forest admiring the flora and fauna with his wife Chandramathi and son Rohitaswa in ’Mrigamukavala nipudu’ in Kambhoji ragam, Tisra Eka talam. ‘Intha potha yennai ikanaimi chethunai’ in Sama and Subha Pantuvarali ragams was probably one of the most powerful pieces of the evening’s recital. Chandramathi is sick with worry about her son who has not returned after running an errand. He had been sent to the fields by her employer to pick ‘garba-pull’ for worship. She hears that a snake has bitten him; she does not get permission to go see him immediately... She is asked to finish her chores and then go. A very powerful story knit together well. Srikanth gave a remarkable account of Chandramathi’s loneliness, her worry, her despair and her hopelessness. His histrionic capacity was far beyond his age and experience.

Bhoomadevi promises to protect Prahlad from his father, Hiranyakasyapu. She addresses him as one of the best disciples of Narayana with real bhakthi in his heart. This piece was in Kamboji and evolved as a thillana. Srikanth gave us a glimpse of a great tradition that we are hardly aware of, leave alone being familiar with. Such dedicated artists need to be supported and given more platforms to showcase their precious heritage.