Dance Photos from Smt. Jothi Raghavan's Nayaki - A Poetic Journey

“Nayaki” the dance production by Smt. Jothi Raghavan, a well known Indian Classical Dance choreographer, dancer and dance teacher in the Greater Boston area, is based on the intense love poems of the mystic poet Thirumangai Alwar. The poems are passionate and philosophical depicting the longing of the individual soul for the union with the supreme.

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“ Nayaki – The dance production - A poetic journey, performed by Smt. Jothi Raghavan, a well known choreographer, dancer and Bharathanatyam dance teacher in the New England area (http://www.indianperformingarts.org).

The music for this production is composed by Rajkumar Bharathi . The research help and inspiration comes from the lectures of Velukkudi Krishnan Swamy of Chennai India.
Vocal: N. Sasidaran; Mridangam: N. Narayanaswamy; Flute: H.S. Venugopal; Veena: Revathi Ramaswamy; Music Composed by: Rajkumar Bharathi.

Traveling from place to place, from temple to temple, Thirumangai Azhwar composed exceedingly beautiful poetry to his Divine Beloved, Vishnu/Narayana, as an expression of his love for Him. Alvar means one who is "immersed" in the experience of God, the omnipresent mysterious one. Thirumangai Alvar is the last of the 12 Alvars. The twelve Alvars flourished in south India somewhere between the fifth and ninth centuries of the first millennium. The Bhakthi movement in India got a great boost from their Tamil hymns, which are profound and spontaneous outpourings of their bhagavath anubhavam (the enjoyment of the Divine being). Their hymns add up to 4000 in number and are revered as "the sacred collect -Dhivya Prabhandham, sparking a renewal of devotional worship throughout India.

The agony and the ecstasy of Parakala Nayaki, a persona that Thirumangai azhwar assumes to express his love and longing for his beloved Narayana is the core of Nayaki.