The year was 1994, and the arts fraternity was abuzz with excitement over a dance production that toured the U.S. and Canada, staging 23 full-house shows. While many were eager to hear the musical score composed by violin maestro Lalgudi Jayaraman, others looked forward to witnessing the choreography of Rhadha, scion of the Vazhuvoor bani. The coming together of these two legendary artistes contributed immensely to the production’s success, with audiences returning to watch it multiple times. Commissioned and presented by the Cleveland Cultural Alliance, ‘Jaya Jaya Devi’ set a benchmark in both music and dance.
Recalling how their father, Lalgudi Jayaraman, worked on this iconic production within a span of six months, Lalgudi Krishnan and Vijayalakshmi say, “Though he had composed many thillanas that are part of the Bharatanatyam repertoire, this was the first time he was composing for an Isai Natya Nadakam. He not only composed the music but also wrote the lyrics, with inputs from scholar Sujatha Vijayaraghavan, who was also part of the production as a resource person.”
Krishnan and Vijayalakshmi have now revived Jaya Jaya Devi with the aim of introducing this landmark work to a younger generation of dancers and audiences. The production, presented by Lalgudi Trust, will be held at Chennai’s Narada Gana Sabha on September 19 at 6 p.m.
“It was a labour of love for everyone involved. There were no ego clashes, the rapport and camaraderie between my father and guru Rhadha were such that she could suggest changes in the music to suit her choreography and appa would readily accommodate them. He would also frequently attend rehearsals to see how his music was visualised. The wholehearted involvement of the orchestra and dancers further enriched the creative process,” says Krishnan.
Vocalist S.P. Ramh, a disciple of Lalgudi Jayaraman, was not only the lead male voice but also the one who notated the compositions. “It was a gurukulavasam for me, where I learnt the nuances of music making. I witnessed how the two artistes continuously refined their work at every stage. It was an amazing experience to sing live for all the 23 performances alongwith Sumitra Nitin,” he recalls.
The production stood out for its many innovative elements. Reflecting on them Vijayalakshmi says. For instance, the sequence on Spring and Manmadha, appa had used tanam in raga Vasantha to evoke the mood. A lot of thought went into each segment. For the episode on Durga, Sindhubhairavi served as the principal raga, but to portray the goddess’s many facets, ragas such as Mohanakalyani, Chenchurutti and Behag were woven through the creative use of grahabhedam. The entire segment was set to swara passages. His contrasting use of musical phrases to depict tandava and lasya in the Nalinakanthi thillana was widely applauded.”
Dancers of the upcoming ‘Jaya Jaya Devi’ show.
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
Hyma Ramakrishna, the costume designer in the original version, will recreate them in the upcoming performance too. A new set of young dancers — Divya Nayar, Sumithra Subramaniam, Nideesh Kumar, Varsha Rajkumar, Sundaresan Pandurangan, Satvika Shankar, Smrithika, Shruthipriya Vignesh and Tanish Karthik are playing the roles performed earlier by artistes who are now established names in the field. Raksha Raghavan and Shruthi Vidyashankar are the narrators. In this new cast of performers, the continuing link is the presence of P.C. Ramakrishna, who is back again as Nandideva.
Unlike the original, which had a live orchestra, the new production will be performed to recorded music featuring vocalists R.P Shravan, Sunil Gargyan, Krithika Anand and Janani Hamsini. Nattuvangam is by Jayashree Ramanathan. The music team comprises Lalgudi Vijayalakshmi on the violin, Sai Shravanam on the tabla, Sruti Sagar on the flute, Karthikeyan Ramanathan on the mridangam, Ganapathy on the chendai and urmi and Rajagopal on the morsing and udukkai.
Guru Rhadha has trained the dancers for the present production.
| Photo Credit:
K.V. SRINIVASAN
And Rhadha has retained the original choreography and will be training the dancers for the present production too. Speaking about the differences between then and now, she says, the biggest change is the paucity of time, as most dancers are juggling multiple commitments. Yet, their involvement and enthusiasm are commendable.”
Talking about how Jaya Jaya Devi holds a special place in her heart, Rhadha adds that it was the production that brought her recognition. “Choreographing for the maestro’s magnificent musical score remains the high point of my artistic journey.” For old-timers, it would be a trip down memory lane, but for those watching it for the first it would be a refreshing experience.
The event is open to all. For details visit the link: https://kynhood.com/event/6a6dc85d5b63cc1001732b62.
Published – September 09, 2026 05:13 pm IST
