Maestro Lalgudi Jayaraman's Jaya Jaya Devi

Sujatha Vijayaraghavan and choreography by eminent Guru Rhadha, the ballet presents six facets of Devi. Beginning in Kailasa with Shiva and Dakshayani, it traverses the legends of Uma and Ardhanari, Durga as worshipped by humans, the village goddess Karumari, and finally returns to Shiva and Parvathi in Kailasa, tracing the origins of Bharatanatyam. A unique feature of the production is the Sutradhara—Nandi, portrayed by veteran theatre artiste P.C. Ramakrishna, featuring English narration. After over three decades, the Lalgudi Trust has revived JAYA JAYA DEVI, recreating the original production with remarkable fidelity. The revival features 11 performers and a specially recorded musical score. Lalgudi Krishnan and Lalgudi Vijayalakshmi have preserved the original score, while Guru Rhadha has personally trained the next-generation dancers. Smt. Sujatha Vijayaraghavan and costume designer Smt. Hyma Ramakrishna have painstakingly recreated the original artistic vision.