A multi-disciplinary presentation titled ‘Madras and the Mahatma’ was staged at Srinivasa Gandhi Nilayam in Alwarpet on August 23.
This show featured talks, vintage music, dance and theatre put together by a trio – dancer Nirupama Vaidyanthan and Aravind Sankar and Shreeram of Vaak Foundation.
The venue was significant as Srinivasa Gandhi Nilayam as started by Ambujammal, an ardent follower of M. K. Gandhi and a freedom fighter herself. Ashes of Gandhi are buried under the thulasi maadam inside this campus off Ambujamal Street. ( photo below)
Urmila Vaidyanathan read passages from Ambujammal’s autobiography. This was followed by a talk by Justice Prabha Sridevan ( retired) about the times and links Gandhi had with Madras.
Vintage songs on India’s freedom movement, sung by eminent musicians were played by Aravind Sankar – he prefaced them with anecdotes. Nirupama danced for some of them ( first photo).
The finale was a dance theatre piece of the Salt March of people in Tamil Nadu – that ended in coastal Vedaranyam, in which Nirupama’s grandfather O. V. Alagesan, then a student, had participated in and then became a follower of Gandhi.
Nirupama fleshed out this episode with classical dance and abhinaya.
– Report by Sujatha Vijayaraghavan
