I was probably five or six years old when I first saw the painting of "Kalinga Nardhana" (காளிங்க நர்த்தனம்).I can still clearly recall how appealing the painting was.
The artwork was done by the sister of my maternal grandfather. I've heard that she loved creating art and paintings, and that she would spend a lot of time exploring its various facets. Unfortunately, she regrettably passed away at a very young age. My grandfather was a kind brother who carefully secured many of her works.
In her
portrayal of "Kalinga Nardhana", snake Kalinga was not in agony or in pain when Krishna was dancing on top of his head. He was having a blissful time
with Krishna who dances with rhythm. That's how I envisioned the portrait, at
least.
My mother later
exposed me to Krishna's stories, it was hard to believe that snake Kalinga
could be evil. It completely contradicted the imagination of what I had in
mind.
After that, I interpret the story in my own way. Kalinga might be malevolent, but Krishna had hypnotized him with his "Aananda Thandavam - ஆனந்த தாண்டவம்".
Both of them resonated with the rhythmic patterns of dancing.
Even though
Kalinga was battling with all of his strength, within a short while, he fully
transformed into an admirer of art and reached the point of admitting the
defeat.
Upon
discovering one of the compositions by Oothukaadu Venkata Kavi later on, I had
the impression that he had a similar interpretation and was able to express it through a beautiful Thillana.
I can always
swirl in the timeless moment of Krishna and Kalinga's eternal dance whenever I
listen to this Thillana performed by various carnatic artists.
Maybe a vicious creature was seen as a defeated serpent throughout the generations-long tradition of storytelling. However, there was beauty in his loss.
Why did Krishna want to use his artistic medium to win him over instead
of any other harmful means?
Could Krishna
have also wished to honor the serpents’ appreciation of art?
There are
always beautiful aspects to any moment, no matter how we choose to view it.
Imagination does not have any limitations.
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