Madurai Muralidaran presents Shyama Rang

 ALL PHOTOS BY S RAJENDRAN

Vivrtti presented Guru Madurai R Muralidaran’s Shyama Rang, echoes of Vrindavan at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan in Mylapore recently. Concept, direction, choreography and stage production was by eminent Bharatanatyam dancer Kavya Muralidaran to the musical direction of Madurai R Muralidaran.

Madurai R. Muralidaran is a dancer, composer, choreographer, writer, lyricist, playwright and director best known for his compositions for Bharatanatyam dancers and his elaborate dance musical productions.

Muralidaran was initiated in the art of Bharatanatyam at age 7 under the guidance of Guru Kalaimamani Chamundeeswari (a senior disciple of Padmashree K.N.Dandayudapani Pillai). He has run Nrithyakshetra Dance Academy with his wife Chithra Muralidaran since 1978 and serves on the board of Alagappa Arts and a faculty at Aria University where he teaches Nattuvangam

Muralidaran received the Kalaimamani award from the Tamil Nadu state government for 2019. Bharath Kalachar gave him the title Kala Seva Bharathi for his contributions to the field of Indian performing arts, Kartik Fine Awards gave him the Kartik Award of Excellence in 2021 and Pothy's Parambara Classic Awards named him Parambara Noothana for his contributions to music composition and dance theatre

Muralidaran was given the lifetime achievement award 2022 by Abhai Association of Bharatanatayam Artistes of India. Muralidaran was conferred lifetime achievement award by Niruthia Nithyalaya of Chennai and Natyanjali Academy Association of Malaysia. He was given the award Natya Achaarya Choodamani for his contribution to the arts from Puducherry Natyanjali Trust at their 17th year Maha Shivarathiri Festival

Muralidaran earned Guinness, Asia and India Book of Records, for teaching 359 students an alarippu in Sankeerna Jaathi Dhruva Thalam in 2019, composing 25 Varnams in 25 days in 2020 and leading 125 dancers worldwide to present 50 unique jathis on a virtual platform in 2021 He composed, choreographed and taught 698 people a varnam on Tamil Annai (Mother Tamil), setting his third record in the Guinness Book of World Records  an effort which also raised Rs. 10 lakh for the Tamil Nadu Covid Relief Fund

He was debuted as a lyricist for cine music with Othaiyadi and was honored by Niruthia Nithyalaya during the first edition of "Illangai Natya Sangamam" in collaboration with ICCR, High Commission of India, Colombo

Muralidaran's productions, incorporating both dance and drama, are based on both traditional Hindu mythology and stories from ancient and contemporary Tamil literature

In 2009, he debuted Silapathigaram, a production based on the Sangam Tamil epic by Ilango Adigal and which has since been performed in the US and New Zealand. He staged Amarar Kalki's historic thriller Sivakamiyin Sabadam in a 2013 production The Hindu said was a "zero-error show" His other large-scale productions include Yagnaseni (based on the story of Draupadi from the Mahabharatha), Avadhara Purushan (based on the Kamba Ramayana),and Yadhava Madhava (based on the story of Krishna) His production Karna, centered on the generous yet flawed anti-hero of the Mahabharata, which debuted in Chennai in April 2018