Alarmel Valli describes his poetic quest in ‘The Forgotten Seed’

Alarmel Valli presenting ‘The Forgotten Seed’ at Bangalore International Centre. Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Not all seeds buried in the earth germinate. In ‘The Forgotten Seed’, a Bharatnatyam recital based on the compositions of the Sangam poets, performed by Alarmel Valli, long-lost seeds in the soil find roots, even as they transform into large trees. Let’s go. Shaped by the senior dancer’s graceful artistry, the poems became stories – and sites of protest or celebration.

Each piece presented in ‘The Forgotten Seed’ gave life to the invisible (raindrops could be seen falling on an empty stage) or made the abstract real (the emphasis on the treatment flowers received from humans greedy for their perfume – was heard protesting loudly). Characters from different eras and contexts asked questions or shared their innermost feelings in equally broad voices. A dewy fresh composition for “Cataclysmic Destruction” (as described in the first part), teenage girls are giggling at the new ways in which they’re looking at the dangerous companions of their childhood, instead of being devastated over being betrayed in love. Women choosing to express anger – many of the images were impressions from singing. Speaking about her “four decade long love affair with Sangam poetry”, Alarmel Valli recalls how it was her mother and maternal grandfather who drew her attention towards this poetic era.

The work summarizes her experiences of dance, music and poetry Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

When Alarmel was 16, her mother shared a poem that became a foundational part of the work, describing how it seemed “written for dance”. Although the piece was not presented in this lesson, she considers the poem her favorite which describes the close relationship between man and nature – almost comparing a tree to a brother.

Alarmel quotes A. K. Ramanujam to describe the importance of Sangam poetry: “In their antiquity and in their contemporaneity, there is nothing else in any Indian literature equal to these serene and dramatic Tamil poems, as A. K. Ramanujam Wrote,” she says. “Many of them are secular poems that talk about the omnipresent nature of the divine. They display a surprising relationship with their environment, even using landscapes in storytelling. His depiction of emotions makes them highly allegorical and sensual. His images are tactile. He has a sense of humour,” she adds.

Working with his musical partner gave him “a great experience with no time limits”. “The older dancers had the opportunity to work with a musician for several days,” she says. “It was an enjoyable, unhurried experience.” We remained immersed in the poem until both of us were swept into the same stream of consciousness. Today, we (musicians and dancers) are in parallel streams due to lack of time.

Every piece of ‘The Forgotten Seed’ was marked by rituals of collaboration and reflection Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

She adds, Every piece of ‘The Forgotten Seed’ is marked by rituals of collaboration and reflection, which, among other factors, are not easy to come by in a modern creative environment with the pressure of social media. For Alarmel, the phrase, ‘the forgotten seed’ is a layered metaphor that represents “the seamless connection between dance, poetry and music”. When he saw “Balamma” (the legendary Balasaraswati) dance and started learning music from “Mukta Amma” (the great musician T. Mukta), he felt a natural connection between them. “Learning music with Mukta Amma was a revelation. I suddenly became more aware of pauses between words, gaps between notes, and long stretches of silence. Watching the Balamma dance, I realized that abhinaya – the interpretive aspect of our dance – is not just about portraying a text or theme using hand gestures and facial expressions, but it is equally about moving the whole body to the music. It’s about listening and giving permission to try. To make music visible,” she says.

His idea of ​​dance is one where “ideally speaking, we can see the music and hear the dance.” Based on the compositions of poets such as Kalidasa, Tanjore Quartet and Subramaniam Bharati, most of the pieces in ‘The Forgotten Seed’ were musically arranged by Prema Ramamurthy or Rajkumar Bharati. Marked by careful sharing of credit among collaborators, ‘The Forgotten Seed’ effortlessly narrates an artist’s journey of poetic discovery that melds music and dance.