Asia Dance Channel

Ninnai Charan Adainden – Kannama My Love
By Shri Nimal Raj
8February 2009
Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre

By Ranjaniy Mohan

The immortal compositions of Mahakavi Subramanya Bharathi came to life on Saturday night through the astounding dance movements of Nimal Raj. The two and a half hour show depicted the transformation of Kannama - the female form of Kannan, or Lord Krishna - from a child to an adolescent and finally to the supreme power. Hosted by the Temple of Fine Arts, Penang, the performance was accompanied by the temple’s Penang Orchestra made up of Krishna Kumari on the nattuvangam, Krishna Kannan and Ananda Raj Sadacharam on vocals, Shri Tamarakudy KR Vijayakumar on mridangam, Shri Sheshadri Sriram on violin, Shrimathi Bhawani Nimal Raj on veena, and Kumar Karthik Chakravarthy on both keyboard and vocals.

The dance began with Nimal’s sharp hand movements. His arched back showed no flaw as he glided from one position to another. His facial expression showed Bharathi’s longing for Kannama as he calls her name over and over again. Bharathi was captivated by little children’s laughter and this was very well captured through the emotions of Nimal as he portrayed how he raises a baby and describes her beauty that increases day by day.

The next piece defined the whole beauty of Kannama. Nimal awed the audience by capturing and explaining every minute detail of her only through his dance movements and facial expressions. He explained that Kannama’s face is like a lotus, she has very beautiful eyes and eyebrows and her voice is as sweet as the music from the Lord Saraswathy’s veena.

The next item touched the audiences’ hearts and souls. In walked Nimal from the stage below holding the hand of a cute little girl aged 3. She had half her hair tied back and was dressed in a beautiful little sari. Nimal leapt and spun around the girl, whose role was Kannama when she was a child. Bharathi’s face lights up the minute he sees her. He becomes depressed when he sees her sad even for a short time. His heart is struck when she frowns. The way Nimal demonstrated that it feels like there would be no tomorrow if Kannama cries was truly magnificent. Little Kannama’s smile manages to take Bharathi’s sorrow away at all times. This piece lingered in the minds of the audience as Nimal carried the little Kannama and spun her in circles, hugged her and danced with her. Not everyone present would have known that the little girl was actually Nimal’s very own daughter. Although at a tender age, she did try her best to accompany her father on stage.

“His thought, soul, and mind are totally consumed by his lover Kannama. His yearning for her is portrayed in the next scene. Her beauty lingers in his mind.” Those were the exact words uttered by the narrator, Linggatharani Kesavan. Her first time narrating, she did a splendid job speaking clearly in both English and Tamil to make sure that the audience understood what was taking place on stage.

Nimal’s hands motioned that Bharathi is writing a poem for his beloved Kannama. He gives her anything she wants, anything she wishes for. Nimal’s swift moves enchanted the audience. The plight and mental torture Bharathi goes through when he finds that Kannama did not come to see him as promised cannot be described in mere words. Nimal did an excellent job portraying just that. His facial expression of so much pain, longing and desire together with the thought of Kannama’s well-being haunting Bharathi’s mind was mind-blowing. His face clearly said, “Kannama, how could you do this to me?” Every time Bharathi hears the sound of anklets, he leaps to the door to see if that is she. His anguish and despair over her absence made the audience want to cry themselves. That was how powerful Nimal’s performance was.

After so many hours of tears and worry, Bharathi finally drifts to sleep, only to be awakened by a terrible nightmare. Heartbroken, he continues to wait for Kannama to show up and when she does, the joy he displays is fabulous.

The next item took Nimal’s dance to a whole new level. From a child, to a lover, this piece revealed Kannama as a supreme power. Nimal’s mystifying movements demonstrated Bharathi’s devotion to her. Kannama arises to relieve his pain. Nimal convinced the audience that as long Bharathi has faith in Kannama, nothing can deter him. The song “Ninnai Charan Adainden” was finally played as Nimal displayed its meaning. Bharathi completely surrenders himself to Kannama. Nimal leapt into the air and amazed everyone with his terrific balancing capability.

The dance came to an end in the final piece in which Nimal concluded that Bharathi had waited his whole life for Kannama by bowing down, seeking her blessing.

Nimal has been learning dance since 1982 and he successfully completed his arengethram in 1990 from the Temple of Fine Arts, Kuala Lumpur.

Asking him what actually inspired him to stage a dance from Bharathi, he replied, “When I was 9 years old, my mother and father often played Bharathi’s songs in the car. I was deeply impressed by his diverse thoughts as Bharathi writes about absolutely anything he can get his hands on.”

He is blessed with his wife, Bhawani Nimal Raj, a son and a daughter who are both learning dance.

He will be planning another dance soon, this time depicting Kannan’s growth from a child to an adult, featuring his teacher, Krishna Kumari. There will also be an upcoming dance entitled “Silapathigaram” which will have dialogue in both English and Tamil.

One person who managed to steal the audience’s attention was vocalist Krishna Kannan. Having learned Sangeetham for 10 years, Krishna mesmerized everyone, including me, with his versatile and entrancing voice. At the young age of 17, Krishna has proved to be a very capable singer that will definitely have a bright career ahead.

According to Krishna, “I chose to learn Sangeetham thanks to the support from my parents. I also believe that Sangeetham has a very good cultural base and has molded me into a good individual.”

Krishnan has participated in about 10 shows now and has many more to come. He can also play the piano, holds the role of a prefect in his school and is a state cricket player. However, the multi-talented lad said that he might be slowing down a little on performances this year as he has to concentrate on his upcoming SPM examinations.

As a whole, Nimal’s performance that night left the audience impressed. No one could have captured the love and affection Bharathi had for Kannama better than Nimal did. A thumbs-up to the wonderful evening full of colours and magic accompanied by one of the best orchestras!