Mayiladum Azhagan – The handsome lord on the peacock
Lord Kartikeya or Muruga, born as the son of Lord Shiva and Parvati, is a favorite deity in South India, evoking religious fervor and a voluminous outpouring of hymns and songs for over 2000 years from saints and mystics as well as from the simple village-folk of Tamil Nadu. He is revered as the savior of the gods in the heavens; vanquisher of the evil Tarakan and Soorapadman; a guru to his own father; and wedded to the divine maidens Devayanai and Valli. He is also venerated as Skanda, Subrahmanya, Shanmukha, Guha, Kumara, and Kanda.
Several stories are woven around the six major shrines of Lord Muruga: Palani-malai, Swami-malai, Thiruchendur, Thiruparangundram, Thiruthanigai, and Palamudircholai. Mayiladum Azhagan was choreographed and presented in February 1998 as a fundraiser for the Shiva-Murugan Temple in Concord.
Today’s recital by Abhinaya Dance Company’s current students will portray excerpts from this show with stories associated with three shrines as well as other pieces describing the handsome lord.
Program
Prayer
Adavus: Fundamental Units – Advanced Beginners
Dancers: Lia Naiksatam, Navya Sinnathambi, Arya Karthik, Vidya Iyengar, Aria Krishnaswamy, and Anya Krishnaswamy
1. Kalai Nirai Ganapati Raga: Hamsadhwani Tala: Adi
A prayer to the elephant headed Lord Ganesha also worshipping his father, Lord Shiva; his mother Goddess Parvati, and his brother Kartikeya.
Dancers: Aadya Ravipati, Vrinda Iyengar, Advika Vinod, Aarohi Arikatla, Ravichandra (Ravi) Romfh, Keerthana Chenduran, and Tara Asthagiri
2. Sri Vignarajam Bhaje Raga: Gambheera Nattai Tala: Khanda Chaapu
Dancers offer a prayer to the elephant-headed god Ganesha, the older brother of Lord Muruga.
Composer: Oothukaadu Venkatasubbaiyer
Dancers: Akshara Sunder, Dhriti Bharadwaj, Dhrithi Balan, Diya Shah, and Eera Satwe.
3. Shataakshara Kavuthuvam Raga: Shanmukhapriya Tala: Rupakam
Composer: Madurai R. Muralidharan Choreography: Malavika Walia
This invocatory piece describes Lord Muruga, son of Lord Shiva, whose consort is Valli, and who rides atop a
peacock. He is the handsome one worshipped as the Lord of the six hills.
Dancers: Niharika Ramanatham, Leela Ganapati, and Shivanshi Saund.
4. Thirupugazh and Muruga stories Ragamalika Talamalika
Saint Arunagirinathar in his 15th century work Thiruppugazh sings in praise of Lord Muruga. Interspersed in
this piece are stories of the birth of Muruga, and the story of Swami Malai.
Birth of Muruga
Shiva assumes six faces and from the third eye of each forehead emits a spark that merges into one flame so fiery that the gods recoil in fear. Vayu and Agni carry this flame to the river Ganga. Ganga, unable to bear its heat, casts it into the Sharavana pond in the Himalayas. The flame gives rise to six lotuses, each containing a baby. Six Kritika maidens tend to the divine babies. When Parvati sees them, she is overwhelmed with joy and clasps all of them to her, whereupon they merge into one baby with six faces (Shanmukha).
The story of Swami-malai
As the boy Muruga plays nears Shiva’s abode, all the gods bow down to him except the creator Brahma.
Calling him back, Muruga questions him about the meaning of the primordial syllable ‘Om’. Brahma cannot give him an answer, whereupon Muruga imprisons him. Shiva, then requests Muruga to release Brahma or else all creation in the world would come to an end. He then wishes to hear Muruga tell him the meaning of ‘Om’.
Muruga promises to tell him the secret meaning at the hill of Swami-malai, where he is worshipped as Swaminatha, a son who became a ‘guru’ to his own father.
Choreography: Thirupugazh-Rasika Kumar (original – Mythili Kumar)
Lyrics: Sri Arunagirinathar; Music: Asha Ramesh Lullaby: Prema Ramamoorthy
Dancers: Anagha Guliam, Shreya Krishnamurthy, Srilakshmi Ramanan, Eesha Iyer.
Additional dancers: Dhrithi Balan, Dhriti Bharadwaj, Aishwarya Venkat (Parvati)
5. The story of Palani Raga: Kamas Tala: Adi
The gods rejoice at the elephant-faced Ganesha and the six-headed Shanmukha, the divine children of Shiva and Parvati. The heavenly sage, Narada, comes with a delicious mango that the children fight over. Shiva declares that the one who goes around the universe and returns first will obtain the prize. As Muruga rushes ahead astride his peacock, Ganesha is perplexed and devises a plan to win. Knowing that Shiva and Parvati are the creators of the universe and therefore represent the universe itself, he circles them three times and prostrates before them, claiming the prize. When Muruga returns and finds the mango lost to him, he is enraged at his family and leaves Kailasa and all his possessions for the hill of Palani-malai.
Lyrics: Varnam (modified) – K. Lalitha
Aarya Shah, Prarthana Shankar, Sanketa Rangan, Aarna Bhargav, and Amaira Mittal.
6. Kaliyuga Varadan Raga: Brindavana Saranga Tala: Adi
In the hills of Palani, the boy Muruga is venerated as the savior of all mortals.
Composer: Periyasami Thooran
Dancers: Shriya Suraj, Vibha Chamarthy, Yatika Arun Karthikeyan, and Sree Akella
7. Singaara Velavan Vandaan Raga: Anandabhairavi Tala: Adi
In the shrine of Thiruttanigai, Lord Muruga weds the hunter maiden Valli. Devotees sing his praises and seek
his blessings.
Dancers: Akshara Sunder, Dhriti Bharadwaj, Dhrithi Balan, Diya Shah, and Eera Satwe
8. The story of Palamudircholai -The devotee Avvaiyar Raga: Maand Tala: Adi
Muruga comes to a grove in the guise of a cowherd boy. The Tamil poet Avvaiyar arrives there, fatigued with hunger, and asks Muruga, who is sitting at the top of a berry tree, to give her some fruit. Muruga asks her whether she wants hot or cold fruit. Perplexed, she asks him to throw her some cold fruit. It falls to the ground, becoming coated with dirt. When Avvaiyar blows the dust off it, Muruga asks her if the fruit is too hot for her.
Avvaiyar realizes that the boy is not an ordinary cowherd and when he stands before her as the Lord Muruga, she is overcome with joy and sings in his praise as the Lord of Palamudhircholai.
Dancers: Avvaiyar: Malavika Walia; Muruga Leela Ganapati
9. In praise of Kartikeya Raga: Surya Tala: Adi
A vivacious rhythmic finale extolling the power of Lord Kartikeya’s spear (Vel) that removes all sins and confers blessings upon all. A semi-circular decorated canopy supported by wooden cross-pieces called a kavadi is carried by devotees as they perform penance and dance in ecstasy singing the Lord’s praises.
Composer: Ghatam Karthik Choreography: Rasika Kumar (original – Mythili Kumar)
Dancers: Junior Dance Company (directed by Malavika Walia)
Aditya Romfh, Prisha Balan, Gayatri Karthik, Eesha Iyer, Leela Ganapathy, Srilakshmi Ramanan, Dhrithi
Balan, Dhriti Bharadwaj, Niharika Ramanatham (Alternate), and Namitha Shenoy (Alternate)
Announcements & Introduction of Teachers
Mangalam- Final Bow
Musicians in the Recording: Nattuvangam: Mythili Kumar and Malavika Walia
Vocal: Asha Ramesh; Violin: Shanthi Narayan; Mridangam & Kanjira: N. Narayan
Abhinaya Dance Company of San Jose
The Abhinaya Dance Company of San Jose was founded by its Artistic Director Mythili Kumar in 1980, to present innovative and professional quality performances of South Indian classical dance, primarily Bharatanatyam. Since 1986, Abhinaya has staged annually original dance productions featuring the choreography of Mythili Kumar, Rasika Kumar, Malavika Walia, guest artists, and collaborators.
Productions encompass mythological themes such as Shiva – the Cosmic Dancer (1986), Multi-Splendored Ramayana (1996), Surya – the Sun God (2003), Arjuna (2014), Vaanara Leela (2016), and the most recent Draupadi (2024) to name a few. Several innovative and contemporary thematic productions have also been critically acclaimed such as Gandhi – the Mahatma (1995); The Ramayana (1997) with a Balinese music and dance ensemble; Jagriti – Awakening (2001), portraying stories of victims of domestic violence; and Si Se Puede (2017), I have a dream (2018) honoring Cesar Chavez and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Abhinaya has been awarded several grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and from state and city agencies. In 2025, Abhinaya will celebrate its 45 th anniversary of instruction and performance in the Bay Area.
Abhinaya offers classes in San Jose and Monte Sereno. Over 150 students have graduated from Abhinaya with their solo debut (arangetram) performances. Website: www.abhinaya.org; email: [email protected]
Abhinaya Winter Semester Teachers:
Mythili Kumar is the founder and artistic director of Abhinaya Dance Company of San Jose. She has won several awards for her outstanding dedication to the art form. Mythili teaches junior level to senior level dancers.
Malavika Kumar Walia is a senior company dancer, choreographer, and teacher. Since 2000 Malavika is one of the main nattuvanars for Abhinaya’s annual company productions, arangetrams, and Rasika Kumar’s solo performances. In January 2020, she was appointed as the Director of the newly launched Junior Dance Company.
Aishwarya Venkat is an accomplished Bharatanatyam artist with over 20 years of experience. She holds a Diploma in Fine Arts from Bharatidasan University, India, and recently established her school Vipasya Arts.
She has been a teacher with Abhinaya Dance company since 2016 and teaches the pre-arangetram batch.
Kavita Varadarajan trained in Bharatanatyam under Mythili Kumar and performed her Arangetram in 2008.
She has been teaching classes since 2020. She is a dedicated teacher handling a full load of weekly classes and is a mentor for all the beginner to junior students.
Pooja Sohoni trained under Mythili Kumar and performed her arangetram in 2007. She has been teaching classes for Abhinaya since 2017 and also mentors students towards their Arangetrams.
Additional Teachers and TAs:
Lakshmi Venkatesan learned Bharatanatyam for over ten years from Mythili Kumar, and performed her arangetram in 2005. She has been teaching classes for Abhinaya and mentoring students for their Arangetrams for over 15 years.
Post arangetram dancers Aditya Romfh and Prisha Balan have been teaching classes for over a year and are also a part of the junior dance company for several years.
Substitute TA: Aanya Mishra
Production Credits
Artistic Director & Choreography: Mythili Kumar
Junior Dance Company Director: Malavika Walia
Abhinaya Winter Semester Teachers: Mythili Kumar, Malavika Walia, Aishwarya Venkat, Pooja Sohoni, and Kavita Varadarajan.
Additional Teachers and TAs: Lakshmi Venkatesan, Aditya Romfh, Prisha Balan,
Program Notes: Mythili Kumar
Lighting: Anitra Romfh, Tejaswi Bharadwaj
Sound: B. Kumar, Ramanan Govindarajan, Bala Ramachandran
Photography: Santosh Selvaraj
Videography: Sachin Pattanshetty
Graphic Design: Joe Miller
Production & Marketing Coordinator: Vaishali Ramachandran
Production Volunteers: Parents of performers, Teachers, Kavitha Ramaswamy
Abhinaya Dance Company Board of Directors
Sharada Bose (Chair), Ram Varadarajan, Rekha Nandakumar, Suchitra Narayen, R. Vishwanath, Preeti Vissa (Secretary), Umesh Shah (Treasurer)
Lifetime Friends of Abhinaya
Founder family – Mythili Kumar, B. Kumar, Malavika Walia & family, Rasika Kumar & family
Asha Ramesh, Ramesh Jayaraman, Shanthi Narayan, N. Narayan and family, Vasanthi & Kannan, Ann Malmuth-Onn, Kamal Nair, Pushpa Sreeharsha, Raju Ananth, G. S. Sathyanarayan, Meera Chari, Priya Dharan, Bhaskar Vissa, Sreelatha Vissa, Preeti Vissa, Madhav Vissa, Bipin Thakkar, Daksha Thakkar, Anjali Thakkar, Sachin Thakkar, S.H. Sundaram, Shantha Raman, Sridhara Dasu, Girija Mittagunta, Anjana Dasu, Aruna Koduri, Prema Ranganathan, Sharada Moorthy, Sharada Bose, Madhuri Chattopadhyaya, Dhrumil Gandhi, Renu Gandhi, Nidhi Gandhi, Ayano Nagaoka, Radha Nagarajan, Rekha Nagarajan, Ram Varadarajan, Roopa Dalal, Kavita Varadarajan, Rohan Varadarajan, Ramarao & Vijaya Yendluri, Uma Vishwanath, R. Vishwanath, and Sahana Vishwanath, Shyla Sohoni, Sanjay Sohoni, Pooja Sohoni, Utsav Sohoni, Manjula & Viggy Mokkarala, Vinu Srivatsan, Kalaivani Anantha, Netra, Niharika & Gandhi Ramanatham, Priya Vattyam, Abhijit
Ghosh, Aditi Ghosh, Advaith Ghosh; Sandhya Jayaraman, Shankar Iyer, Maya Iyer, Eesha Iyer, Jayshree Beltur, Vijay Guliam and Anagha Guliam; Swati, Umesh, Kirtan, and Goonja Shah, Ramya Subramanian, Bala Ramachandran, Prisha Balan, Dhrithi Balan, Digita, Bhagyesh & Maitreyi Patel, Subramanian, Anu and Srinidhi Nagarajan, Rajan Annadurai, Kanmani & Oviya Rajan, Beena & Gurunath Rajapuram, Ramanan Govindarajan, Uma, Samyuktha & Srilakshmi Ramanan, Harika Parige, Bhargava Murthy and family, Priyam Sharma, Aarna Bharghav and Arun Shankarnarayan; Karthik Ramamurthy, Anuradha Sreenivasan and Gayatri Karthik; Sunita Ganapati, Gans Ganapati, Leela and Laya Ganapati.
2025 Friends of Abhinaya
We gratefully acknowledge the support of the following for this annual subscription to our events:
Deepali Mittal, Sachin Mittal, Amaira Mittal, Armaan Mittal; Sandhya Rengarajan Sanketa Rangan and family; Arunkarthikeyan Balakrishnan, Sivasankari Kumaresan, Sarvesh Arunkarthikeyan, Yatika Arunkarthikeyan; Kavya Puligundla, Durga Arikatla, Aarohi Arikatla, Aarna Arikatla; Akshara Sunder, Gomathi Krishnan, Sunder Parameswaran, Vidyuth Sunder; Vidhya Balasubramanian, and Jaya; Padraic Romfh, Anitra Romfh, Pete Romfh, Peggy Romfh; Ramyashree Rangaiyengar, Aravind Iyengar, Vrinda Iyengar, Vidya Iyengar; Vinod Koverkathu, Kirthana Vinod, Mira Vinod; Thejaswi Bharadwaj, Anupama Iyengar, Dhruv Bharadwaj, Dhriti Bharadwaj; Prasanth/Emma Thomas, Tiji Rachel Thomas; Nupur Shah, Mehul Shah, Diya Shah, Aarya Shah; Praveen Shenoy, Namitha Shenoy, Nikita Shenoy; Jayaseetha Bhargavan, Krish Bhargavan; Prarthna Shankar; Naveen Nayak
Abhinaya’s programs are supported, in part, by a Cultural Affairs grant from the City of San José; the William & Flora Hewlett Foundation; the California Arts Council; SV Creates in partnership with the County of Santa Clara; individual donations and matching corporate donations.
