Pitha Pirai Soodi | Sundarar Thevaram | Sounds of Isha | Bharathanatyam

Nambi Aarooran was born in Tirunavalur in Tirumunaipadi. He was raised by the king of the land Narasinga munaiyarayar, as he felt a lot of affection towards the child. When Nambi Aarooran reached marriageable age, the king decided to get him married, and as he was the foster son of the king, the wedding was arranged with great pomp and show. When Nambi Aarooran reached the wedding arena in hid bride groom attire, a very old Brahmin appeared out of nowhere and demanded the wedding to be stopped as he claimed Nambi Aarooran was his slave and hence could not marry. This confused and angered everyone including Nambi Aarooran and in a rage, he called the old man mad. As the old man did not budge, the matter was taken to the court and the old man presented a document which said that Nambi Aarooran's grandfather had promised that he and his descendents would serve him. Nambi Aarooran had to agree to it and reluctantly agreed to serve the Brahmin. But the crowd around were curious about the old man's whereabouts and asked him the same. The old man led them to Tiruvenneynallur and walked towards the temple. To Aarooran's utter surprise, he vanished into thin air. A moment later, there appeared the Lord, Shiva, along with Parvathi on their mount, Nandi. Shiva reminded Nambi Aarooran of his previous birth as Sundarar, who was the personal aide and servant of Shiva. Once while picking flowers in the garden for the Lord, Sundarar felt an attraction towards the two heavenly women who were the maids of Parvathi. The all knowing Lord asked Sundarar to take birth on Earth and enjoy the splendour of life. Sundarar, being upset on leaving the Lord pleaded him to come and help him from getting tangled into the miseries of life, and hence the Lord came down in the form of an old man. Overwhelmed, Nambi Aarooran bowed to the Lord. Shiva asked him to compose prayers, starting with the word he called him before, "mad" i. e. "Piththan" and dress like a bride groom whenever he served him. Immediately, Sundarar started singing this padhigam with the Lord’s grace. . Here is a humble attempt of mine to choreograph this beautiful piece, presented by Sounds of Isha. Choreography and performance - Chinmayee Bharadwaj, disciple of Vid Nandini Eswer Audio credits - Sounds of Isha Video - Pranathi Bharadwaj