I used to go to concerts for 10 days at a stretch during holidays: Urmila Sathyanarayanan

ON HER MARGAZHI PREPPreparation for Margazhi happens throughout the year. For me, I like to be very geared up for the season. It is an important time, so a lot of preparation goes into it mentally and physically. Even though I have dance recitals all year long, it’s somehow different with the Margazhi season.

WHAT CAN RASIKAS EXPECT THIS SEASON?This year, along with my solo performances we’re doing a production that is quite special for us. It is called Thadathagai The Eternal Queen of Madurai, and is about goddess Meenakshi of Madurai. It is based on the story from sage Paranjothi’s Thiruvilayadal Puranam. It is set in the 13th century and we’ve tried our best to present the entire production as closest to the events as recorded in Thiruvilayadal.

I was thinking of doing a big production because we hadn’t done a production post COVID, and one artiste who I was talking to mentioned something about Meenakshi. We tried to make it as a smallscale production initially, but that didn’t happen. Still, the idea stuck with me though and the more I started thinking about it, the more it became clear.

MARGAZHI MEMORIESMy best memories of the Margazhi season, which I simply love, is as a little schoolgirl who used to spend the entire Christmas holidays sabha-hopping. To start with the concerts at sabhas early in the morning and to finish late at night, and to do this for 10 days at a stretch... I didn’t realise it then, but it was truly a luxury, because today, there are so many responsibilities, so many things that you can’t afford to do as you don’t have the time.

ADVICE TO THE NEXT GENARATIONI think they’re all very smart and are willing to work hard. They’re also focussed, and that’s great to see. When it comes to the performing arts, we should just remember that any kind of classical art requires a lot of inner work and understanding as well as practice. It’s a very beautiful combination of both, and you have to strike the right balance. It should be about maturity, growth and understanding your art at a deeper level.

‘I’M PERFORMING A PIECE AFTER 47 YEARS!’This year, I’m performing a Pancharatna Kriti which I had last performed for my arangetram, way back in 1976. I haven’t performed it ever after that. Of course, I’ve changed the choreography a bit, but it’s the same piece, so I’m very, very excited about presenting it again.


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