Trinity – Carnatic play (CANCELLED)

Trinity – Carnatic play (CANCELLED)

Artist(s) : Dr S. Sunder, Gayathri Venkataraghavan, Vijay Siva

Saturday, April 4, 2020 | 4:30pm - 6:30pm

B. Reed Henderson High School

400 Montgomery Avenue
West Chester, PA 19380

About This Event

A unique experience awaits you! For the first time in English Theatre, “The Madras Players” present “Trinity” – A Musical Play in English, based on Seetha Ravi’s stories translated by Prabha Sridevan. Sruti is grateful to Paul M. Angell Family Foundation for partially funding this program.

Trinity weaves a fabric of 3 beautiful stories on the fountainheads of our Carnatic music tradition – Thyagaraja, Muthuswami Dikshitar and Shyama Sastry.

Vijay Siva is Muthuswami Dikshitar. Gayathri Venkataraghavan is Lalitha, the wife of Shyama Sastri. Dr. S. Sunder is Thyagaraja.

Joined by accomplished young concert singers Vikram Raghavan, Bharath Narayan, Abhinav Shankar, Shilpa Sadagopan and Sanjay Nag.

The play also features TT Srinath, S Ram, Aryamba Sriram, Victor Paulraj, Gopi Nair and others.

A SYNOPSIS

TRINITY is a seamless weave of 3 short stories on the “Tiruvarur Three” who lived around Thanjavur at the same time in the 18th century.

Story 1: PARIMALA RANGANATHAR Muthuswami Dikshitar travels from one holy Kshetra to another with his disciples, composing memorable keerthanais on the temple, deity and legend of the place. The scene begins in Mayuram, where he has just composed “Mayuranatham Bhajeham” in praise of the Lord there. He then travels to Indalur, where he composes 2 Krithis with the same pallavi but different charanams in Hamir Kalyani. What makes him do it, is the focus of the story. Vidwan Vijay Siva is Muthuswami Dikshitar.

Story 2: SHYAMA KRISHNAN Lalitha, the wife of Shyama Sastri waits long hours for her husband to return home from the temple. In a conversation with her neighbour, Dharmambal, the poignancy of her married life with Shyama Sastri is revealed. She ultimately merges with the “naadam” of his Tambura , singing the great Yadukula Kambhoji Swarajathi of her husband. Does he come home..? The story provides the answer. Vidushi Gayathri Venkataraghavan is Lalitha.

Story 3: KEERTHI VILAASAM Thyagaraja is preparing for the wedding of his daughter Seethamma, who plies him with a multitude of questions on whether he actually saw Sri Rama, and, if so, why he continues to yearn for Him in every song. Thyagaraja has answers for her, and the scene ends with a revelation of why he uses his Mudra “Thyagaraja” in his compositions. Vidwan Dr. S. Sunder is Thyagaraja.

The Artist(s)

Dr S. Sunder

Gayathri Venkataraghavan

Vijay Siva