2 thoughts on “Guru Samarpanam: Ramar temple, Ram Nagar, Coimbatore – 21st October 2018”
NAVARATRI BOMMAI GOLU IN COIMBATORE …..FEELING BLESSED
The nine nights and ten days long Navrathri or navrathras as it also known, and which falls in the months of September – Ocober every year, is celebrated with great fervor throughout the country under various beliefs.
I was fortunate to witness, this year, the BOMMAI GOLU during the Navratri celebrations in Coimbatore, at the residence of Sri. Guru Vazhuvoor Palaniappan Pillai, whose family belongs to the dynasty of the famous Vazhuvoor School of Bharatnatyam. For me it was an exhilarating experience in an atmosphere pregnant with rich culture, music and dance.
The nine steps of the Golu display in his house, consisted of hand crafted dolls made of clay and painted brightly, depicting everyday life of the rural villages as well as Gods and Goddesses. As the number of dolls spilled over the nine steps, there were displays in various corners related to some theme. Animals and plants were also a part of the Golu to show that nature too was worshipped. I noticed that it was more of a women’s festival and also a platform for socializing.
With bright twinkling lights hung all over the room, and an open house in which visitors were flitting in and out, the whole atmosphere wore a festive look befitting the occasion. There were musical renderings by very talented children and their gurus, radiating positive vibrations to the whole atmosphere for those nine days.
The tenth day which saw the culmination of the festivities, was an occasion to remember. Keeping the rich heritage and traditions alive, there was the Gurusamarpanam ritual wherein the students offered their chelangai (ghungroos) at the Guru’s feet, who blessed it and handed the same back with a prayer invoking Goddess Saraswati to bless them. The students then started to learn some new item, after which they danced briefly on what they had already learnt. Indeed a feast for the eyes, and how I wished that it would go on….
But, as the old adage says… ‘all good things have to come to an end’…and when I left the venue it was with the twinkling lights shining in my eyes and strings of music ringing in my ears….
Our granddaughter Parvati is his student… feeling blessed…..
GURU SAMARPANAM DANCE PERFORMANCE BY STUDENTS OF GURU PALANAPPAN
On Sunday the 21st October, as a conclusion of the Navratri festival, Coimbatore witnessed one of the finest dance performances on stage, by the students of Sri. Guru Palaniappan Pillai of the Vazhuvoor school of dance and music as their GURUSAMARPANAM.
Nine performers ranging from 8 to 35 years, enthralled the audience with their mastery of shifting rhythms in harmony with the musicians, and dancing with sculpted perfection, combined with befitting bhavas.
The two and a half hour long performance perfectly choreographed to follow one item after another in quick succession, reflected the guru’s capability of understanding each student’s potential and converting the same into a captivating performance.
Playing the nattuvangam was the guru himself, who also propelled complicated scores of music to an easy flow. For the singers Haripriya and Deeksha, though this was their maiden performance, it reflected their talent to rise to the occasion. Sri. Chennai Suresh on the mridangam, and Sri. Madurai Jagadeesh on the violin, did full justice as accompanying and supporting artists.
The programme began with an invocation to Lord Ganesha, accompanied by the harmonic richness of the violin, the rhythmic beats of the mridangam and the nattuvangam.
By the time the show culminated, the audience had witnessed, through the dancers, the rich culture of Bharatnatyam in the true sense of this art form….
….Renuka Sreekumar renukasreekumar@hotmail.com
Vazhuvoor S Palaniappan Pillai 
NAVARATRI BOMMAI GOLU IN COIMBATORE …..FEELING BLESSED
The nine nights and ten days long Navrathri or navrathras as it also known, and which falls in the months of September – Ocober every year, is celebrated with great fervor throughout the country under various beliefs.
I was fortunate to witness, this year, the BOMMAI GOLU during the Navratri celebrations in Coimbatore, at the residence of Sri. Guru Vazhuvoor Palaniappan Pillai, whose family belongs to the dynasty of the famous Vazhuvoor School of Bharatnatyam. For me it was an exhilarating experience in an atmosphere pregnant with rich culture, music and dance.
The nine steps of the Golu display in his house, consisted of hand crafted dolls made of clay and painted brightly, depicting everyday life of the rural villages as well as Gods and Goddesses. As the number of dolls spilled over the nine steps, there were displays in various corners related to some theme. Animals and plants were also a part of the Golu to show that nature too was worshipped. I noticed that it was more of a women’s festival and also a platform for socializing.
With bright twinkling lights hung all over the room, and an open house in which visitors were flitting in and out, the whole atmosphere wore a festive look befitting the occasion. There were musical renderings by very talented children and their gurus, radiating positive vibrations to the whole atmosphere for those nine days.
The tenth day which saw the culmination of the festivities, was an occasion to remember. Keeping the rich heritage and traditions alive, there was the Gurusamarpanam ritual wherein the students offered their chelangai (ghungroos) at the Guru’s feet, who blessed it and handed the same back with a prayer invoking Goddess Saraswati to bless them. The students then started to learn some new item, after which they danced briefly on what they had already learnt. Indeed a feast for the eyes, and how I wished that it would go on….
But, as the old adage says… ‘all good things have to come to an end’…and when I left the venue it was with the twinkling lights shining in my eyes and strings of music ringing in my ears….
Our granddaughter Parvati is his student… feeling blessed…..
GURU SAMARPANAM DANCE PERFORMANCE BY STUDENTS OF GURU PALANAPPAN
On Sunday the 21st October, as a conclusion of the Navratri festival, Coimbatore witnessed one of the finest dance performances on stage, by the students of Sri. Guru Palaniappan Pillai of the Vazhuvoor school of dance and music as their GURUSAMARPANAM.
Nine performers ranging from 8 to 35 years, enthralled the audience with their mastery of shifting rhythms in harmony with the musicians, and dancing with sculpted perfection, combined with befitting bhavas.
The two and a half hour long performance perfectly choreographed to follow one item after another in quick succession, reflected the guru’s capability of understanding each student’s potential and converting the same into a captivating performance.
Playing the nattuvangam was the guru himself, who also propelled complicated scores of music to an easy flow. For the singers Haripriya and Deeksha, though this was their maiden performance, it reflected their talent to rise to the occasion. Sri. Chennai Suresh on the mridangam, and Sri. Madurai Jagadeesh on the violin, did full justice as accompanying and supporting artists.
The programme began with an invocation to Lord Ganesha, accompanied by the harmonic richness of the violin, the rhythmic beats of the mridangam and the nattuvangam.
By the time the show culminated, the audience had witnessed, through the dancers, the rich culture of Bharatnatyam in the true sense of this art form….
….Renuka Sreekumar
renukasreekumar@hotmail.com
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Thanks for your beautiful rendering about the festival and our Guru Samarpanam
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