| Jayashree is the recipient of the Senior Research Fellowship of the Dept. of Culture, Govt. of India for her thesis on 'The Marga Talas of Tiruppugazh of Tamil Nadu and Manipuri Dance'.
The study shows the similarity between the Chanda Talas employed by Arunagirinathar in his Tiruppugazh (Songs in praise of the Divine) and the Talas used by the Manipuri dancers and mridangists, tracing the origins to the Sankirtana padati of Bengal and the Prabandha technique of music codified in the Sangita Ratnakara. The commonality is very distinct in the fact that both these systems give importance to the ‘varnas’ of the chandas than the kriya of the Tala Dasa Pranas.
As a research product, some Tiruppugazhs rendered in Manipuri Talas have been choreographed in the Bharata Nrityam style and were showcased in the seminar on “Rhythm in Indian Dance and Music”, in Mumbai. |
