100 dancers to perform at this unique musical dance theatre

CHENNAI: In 2004, dancer Dakshayani Ramachandran was invited to a flag hoisting ceremony in a private school in the city.

After her inaugural speech, a Class 8 student presented the dancer with a memento. Dakshayani was surprised to see the student wearing the national flag upside down and on the wrong side.

The dancer understood that the young girl is unaware of the tricolours’ order in the national flag.

This incident made Dakshayani come up with a musical dance theatre production called Moovarnam (Tricolour). After presenting the production at her dance school’s 40th-anniversary celebrations a few years ago, Dakshayani is hosting Moovarnam again in the city on September 18.

The patriotic dance ensemble will see 100 dancers performing for one hour. “Even today, many children and youngsters don’t know what the tricolours in the national flag denote. I wanted to inculcate patriotism in them. For me, devotion to God and devotion to the nation are the same. I have penned the lyrics, composed the music and choreographed this dance ensemble that will have new and old students from my dance school. A few students from Sevalaya are also part of this musical production,” says the 64-year-old dancer.

A still from Moovarnam stage play.

Samskar Bharati Tamil Nadu is organising the event at Chettinad Vidyashram in RA Puram. “Moovarnam is a musical dance theatre to spread the message of the Indian independence to a wider audience. Each of the three varnams (hence the name Moovarnam) depicts one colour of the Indian flag. The first varnam represents saffron and details the sacrifice that freedom fighters made - a pre-independent India. The second one - white - expounds on how Gandhiji used ahimsa and dharma to help achieve independence. The final varnam - green- extols the virtues of post-independence India emphasising the prosperity of the nation and the advances made in various sectors such as art, culture, science, technology, agriculture, etc. I hope this show will help people to know about Indian independence in a better way,” she adds.