July 11, 2026 · Samanvaya

The Margam & The Navarasas

Nine pieces. One emotional arc.

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In Bharatanatyam, the Margam means "the path" — a carefully calibrated journey from invocation and pure rhythm, through the demanding Varnam, into expressive storytelling, folk devotion, and final gratitude.

01
Invocation

Thodaya Mangalam

Raga Ragamalika Talamalika Tāla Duet Shanta
Shreya and Shriya standing together with hands forming a symmetrical mudra offering

The evening begins with an invocation. The dancers offer flowers through movement, seeking blessings from the divine, the guru, the musicians, the stage, and the audience. This is not simply a beginning — it is a ceremony of permission.

Navarasa focus

Shanta

The Margam begins in stillness. Shanta is the rasa of serenity: a quieting of the room, the mind, and the stage before the first full burst of movement.

Watch for

Watch how the gestures move downward: offering, not displaying. The eyes are not performing yet — they are praying.

02
Pure Nritta

Alarippu

Sollukattu (rhythmic syllables) Khanda Tāla Duet Adbhuta
Shreya and Shriya with hands extended toward each other in a balanced Alarippu offering shape

"Alarippu" means "a flowering bud." There is no story — only movement discovering itself. The dancer's body awakens gradually: eyes, neck, shoulders, torso, arms, and feet bloom in sequence. In a duo, Alarippu becomes a test of unison and trust.

Navarasa focus

Adbhuta

Alarippu has no story, but it carries the wonder of the body becoming alive to rhythm. The rasa is subtle: a bud opening, breath finding pattern, two dancers discovering one shared pulse.

Watch for

Notice the posture — knees bent outward, weight low, spine tall. This is Aramandi, the foundation of every movement in Bharatanatyam. Watch the two dancers move as one, never looking at each other.

03
Pure Nritta

Jatiswaram

Raga Kalyani Rupakam Tāla Duet Veera
Shreya and Shriya in a synchronized nritta pose for the Kalyani Jatiswaram

A Jatiswaram pairs rhythmic syllables (Jatis) with melodic passages (Swaras) in Raga Kalyani — soaring, open, luminous, rising and resolving like sunlight through an arched window. There is no narrative, only the interplay of sound and physical form.

Navarasa focus

Veera

Jatiswaram is abstract, but not emotionally empty. Its rasa is Veera: courage, vigor, discipline, and the confidence of complex rhythm held with clarity.

Watch for

Watch the arm extensions and diagonal lunges — each line in space mirrors an interval in the ascending raga. The body is not illustrating the music. It is becoming the music.

04
Nrityopaharam Lalgudi Jayaraman

Innum En Manam

Raga Charukesi Adi Tāla Duet ShringaraKaruna
Shreya and Shriya in a high-energy action pose with open arms for the Varnam

"Still, my heart…" A devotee speaks to Lord Krishna. She has waited. He has been silent. She cannot tell if His silence is cruelty or a test or a game He plays because He knows the waiting deepens her love. This is the heart of the Arangetram.

Navarasa focus

Shringara · Karuna

The Nrityopaharam lives in Shringara Bhakti: love for the divine expressed as longing. Karuna deepens that love with the ache of separation from Krishna.

Watch for

The Nrityopaharam alternates between intense rhythmic sequences (Jathi) and expressive storytelling (Abhinaya). When the face goes still, that is not a mistake — it is the body becoming pure mathematics. Watch the emotion come back when the lyric returns.

05
Padam Madurai R. Muralidharan

Sarinigar Samanamana Deivam

Raga Ananda Bhairavi Misra Chapu Tāla Shreya solo AdbhutaVeeraShanta
Shreya seated in a wide pose with one hand extended and focused expression for the Ayyappa Padam

Lord Ayyappa lives deep in the forests of Sabarimala, where the Western Ghats rise between Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Born of Shiva and Vishnu as Mohini, he belongs to both states — and to both families on this stage. The Padam is the intimate heart of the evening.

Navarasa focus

Adbhuta · Veera · Shanta

Ayyappa brings wonder through his divine birth, Veera through courage and pilgrimage, and Shanta through the devotee's final surrender at Sabarimala.

Watch for

Watch the face, the eyes, and the hands. In Padam, the drama is carried not by speed but by expression: reverence, surrender, wonder, and devotion. Wide, slow arm movements evoke the forest opening around you.

06
Kavadi Chindu Periyasami Thooran

Azhagu Deivamaga Vandu

Raga Senchurutti Adi Tāla Shriya solo HasyaVeera
Shriya in a full-body motion pose with lifted arm and sweeping skirt for the Kavadi Chindu

After the quiet of the Padam, the energy shifts. This Kavadi Chindu to Lord Muruga is set to a light, folk-style melody — rooted in Tamil devotional traditions, joyful and grounded, carrying the rhythm of pilgrimage, celebration, and offering. Lord Murugan stands atop Palani hill; his devotees climb to reach him.

Navarasa focus

Hasya · Veera

This Kavadi Chindu lifts the room into Hasya: open, communal joy. The pilgrim's climb also carries Veera, the courage and devotion needed to carry an offering uphill.

Watch for

The footwork is grounded and rolling — not the sharp precision of classical Bharatanatyam, but the swaying weight of a pilgrim walking. Notice the Kavadi gesture: arms extended outward from the shoulders, carrying a sacred offering.

07
Keerthanam Muthuswami Dikshitar

Anandamritakarshini

Raga Amritavarshini Adi Tāla Duet KarunaAdbhuta
Shreya and Shriya close together, one dancer framed by the other's overhead arms for the Amritavarshini

In 18th-century Tamil Nadu, during a severe drought, Muthuswami Dikshitar composed this Keerthanam in Raga Amritavarshini — a raga named for the nectar-rain of the goddess — and sang it as a prayer. The story says the rains came before he finished singing. Tonight, far from that drought, the prayer is sung again.

Navarasa focus

Karuna · Adbhuta

Karuna begins in compassion for a drought-stricken world. Adbhuta arrives with the wonder of rain: clouds gathering, water falling, grace becoming visible.

Watch for

Look for gestures of clouds rising, fingers dripping downward as rain, and palms opening to receive water. Notice how the body becomes the weather.

08
Nrityangaharam Swathi Thirunal

Dhanashree Thillana

Raga Dhanashree Adi Tāla Duet VeeraAdbhutaHasya
Shreya and Shriya in a synchronized duo pose for the Dhanashree Thillana

Composed by Maharaja Swathi Thirunal of Travancore — a king who invited the Tanjore Quartet to his Kerala court, weaving Tamil and Kerala arts together. His Dhanashree Thillana contains rhythmic patterns across multiple tempos: the Samanvaya written in music, two centuries before this stage.

Navarasa focus

Veera · Adbhuta · Hasya

The Nrityangaharam turns technique into celebration. Veera powers the speed and stamina, Adbhuta appears in the dazzling complexity, and Hasya gives the finale its bright joy.

Watch for

The footwork will accelerate. Patterns will become more complex. Listen for the rhythm shifting in speed. Between bursts — both dancers freeze in a perfect geometric form. Those moments of shared stillness in the storm are the mark of two dancers who have become one instrument.

09
Mangalam

Mangalam

Raga Suruti Adi Tāla Duet Shanta
Shreya and Shriya in a back-view handholding duo pose for the closing Mangalam

The Mangalam gathers every thread of the evening into one final act of thanks — to the divine, to the Guru, to the musicians, to the families, and to you for witnessing this. The Margam — the path — is complete.

Navarasa focus

Shanta

The emotional journey returns to Shanta. After devotion, longing, wonder, courage, and joy, the dancers close in peace and gratitude.

Watch for

After this moment, set your phone down. Just watch.

Intermission

A short break between the Varnam and the Padam. Light refreshments will be available.

At A Glance

# Item Type Raga · Tāla Theme / Emotion Performed by
1 Thodaya Mangalam Invocation Ragamalika · Talamalika Vishnu · Invocation
Shanta 		Duet
2 Alarippu Pure Nritta Sollukattu (rhythmic syllables) · Khanda Pure dance
Adbhuta 		Duet
3 Jatiswaram Pure Nritta Kalyani · Rupakam Pure Nritta
Veera 		Duet
4 Innum En Manam Nrityopaharam Charukesi · Adi Krishna
Shringara · Karuna 		Duet
5 Sarinigar Samanamana Deivam Padam Ananda Bhairavi · Misra Chapu Ayyappa · Sabarimala
Adbhuta · Veera · Shanta 		Shreya solo
6 Azhagu Deivamaga Vandu Kavadi Chindu Senchurutti · Adi Muruga · Palani
Hasya · Veera 		Shriya solo
7 Anandamritakarshini Keerthanam Amritavarshini · Adi Goddess · Rain · Renewal
Karuna · Adbhuta 		Duet
8 Dhanashree Thillana Nrityangaharam Dhanashree · Adi Rhythmic climax
Veera · Adbhuta · Hasya 		Duet
9 Mangalam Mangalam Suruti · Adi Benediction
Shanta 		Duet

Durations are rounded up from the music tracks. Live transitions, applause, and stage movement may shift the schedule slightly.

The Nine Emotions

The Navarasa

Across the evening, the dance moves through the Navarasa — the nine fundamental emotions at the heart of Indian classical art. They are not handed out one to a piece. Instead they surface, overlap, and return — Shanta opening and closing the Margam, Karuna and Veera recurring, the fiercer rasas flashing through the drama of the Varnam and the Padam — so that, taken together, the program traces one complete emotional arc.

Quick Reference Key Terms ↓
Margam
The traditional "path" or sequence of a Bharatanatyam performance.
Navarasa
The nine fundamental emotions of Indian classical art. The evening moves through them as a whole — not one rasa to a piece.
Nritta
Pure dance — rhythm, line, geometry, and movement without narrative.
Abhinaya
Expressive storytelling through the face, eyes, hands, and body.
Mudra
A symbolic hand gesture with precise codified meaning.
Varnam
The centerpiece of the Margam, combining rhythm and emotional depth; presented in this Arangetram as a Nrityopaharam.
Padam
A slower expressive item centered on storytelling and devotion.
Thillana
A fast rhythmic finale filled with energy and sculptural movement; presented here as a Nrityangaharam.
Aramandi
The half-seated posture — knees bent outward — that is the foundation of Bharatanatyam.