Come December, and Chennai collectively gears up to become a connoisseur of all things raga, tala, mudras and of course, the food at the sabha canteens.
For the bevy of artistes gearing up to take the stage, this is also the season to put their most stylish foot forward. It is a delicate tightrope walk: wanting to experiment without drifting too far from the classics, and ensuring their outfits enhance, and not upstage the performance. There is meticulous planning involved, specifications to adhere to for onstage comfort, statement jewellery or even fitness trackers, and of course, colours to match the mood; who says you can’t have fun onstage?
We speak to four artistes — preparing for a packed Margazhi calendar — about their fashion fundas, how they curate their wardrobes, the meticulously thought-of design specifications, and their signature stage styles. Read on.
Rithvik Raja
Rithvik Raja
| Photo Credit:
Amar Ramesh
“The fundamental goal for me on stage is to feel super comfortable with what I’m wearing. I’m there to sing. Everything else is an additional component,” says Carnatic singer Rithvik Raja.
For his custom-made kurtas in ajrakh, ikat, chikankari and more, which have been a talking point among his peers and Margazhi season audiences alike, the singer says he has arrived at a ‘sweet spot’ as far as the design specifications are concerned. “The length of my kurtas is always only slightly longer than a shirt so that it falls naturally when I sit. The sleeves are at a 3/4th length with an open slit cuff, so when I lift my hands during a performance, it feels free,” Rithvik explains.
Over the last 15 years, for his kurtas, Rithvik has worked with artist and designer Lakshmi Srinath who runs Tvam Art and Design Studio. “I’m very conscious about buying only handloom material and love sourcing directly from artisans. I do not like flashy designs or too much patchwork. Once I pick the base material, I leave it to Lakshmi to come up with a design that we go back and forth on,” he says.
His kurtas might hog the spotlight, but Rithvik says he takes pride in his collection of dhotis which are rarer to source. “I pick different weaves from wherever I travel; be it Odisha or Andhra Pradesh. These aren’t ones you can find in your regular, large textile stores,” he says. “With a limited number of kurtas, it is easy to mix-and-match different ensembles with veshtis and angavasthrams (shawls) for the stage,” he adds.
Rithvik jokes about a brief phase of wearing flashy diamond studs, but one accessory has stayed for a decade; his Apple Watch. “I even briefly wondered if I should match straps to outfits, but decided to keep it simple. The watch has now become part of my onstage energy and vibe,” he adds.
Sriranjani Tapasya Santhanagopalan
Sriranjani Tapasya Santhanagopalan
| Photo Credit:
Ambrish
Saris in jewel tones, temple jewellery, and colourful, large mookuthis (nose studs) will feature prominently in Carnatic singer Sriranjani Tapasya Santhanagopalan’s wardrobe, this music season.
Her ‘thorough’ checks in place for saris, she laughs, has befuddled many sales representatives at sari shops over the years. She runs us through her checklist as well. “I check how the fabric behaves, whether it irritates my skin and even look at it under different lighting. I thankfully work with a designer, Chuka Ramanan, who is as meticulous as I am and before we finalise any ensemble, we actually mimic my concert postures — from how I sit to how I tune my tanpura— to make sure what I am wearing fully supports this,” she says.
A lovely visual and aural fixture on Sriranjani’s concert stages over the years has been her bright blue tanpura with intricate designs on it, fondly called ‘neelamani’. And as for another signature style fixture, the singer says she has no problem wearing her trusty Whoop fitness band, stacked with bangles on her wrist.
Sriranjani describes her style as understated, and says that when it comes to her saris or her jewellery, she prefers a fly on the wall approach. “My ensemble should never be distracting for me or any other person in the audience. The clothing has to serve the music, not the other way round,” she says.
Her wardrobe for the music season comes together through the year, and Sriranjani says she picks out her own saris and always gravitates towards Kanjivarams. “Some of my most cherished additions to my wardrobe for the season are gifts from my friends or saris and jewellery I borrow from them. My dancer friends, for instance, have been encouraging my love for temple jewellery. I didn’t even have to ask them; they readily sent across pieces that I am very excited to wear this year,” she says.
Christopher Gurusamy
Christopher Gurusamy
| Photo Credit:
Natya Ink by Sudha
A week ahead of a performance, Christopher Gurusamy lays out the sari he plans on draping as his costume and the jewellery to go with it, ready on his bed. “It reminds me of what my purpose is for the show; a totem of sorts. I am reminded that this is what I picked out to wear when I had no pressure or stress. It reminds me of what the performance actually is about, and grounds me,” he says.
A self-confessed Kanjivaram sari connoisseur, the Australia-based dancer who is in Chennai for the Margazhi season says that colours are the first thing that catch his eye. Over the years, Christopher has made Kanjivarams pop with vibrant colour pairings that include blue with red, purple with teal, orange with green.
“The choice of colors can really make a performance more cohesive and I want the sari to reflect the pieces that I’m performing; a kamas (a dance piece dedicated to a deity) would mean I will gravitate towards pinks, and if my dance is about lord Vishnu, I would choose blues or yellows,” he says.
Christopher says, as a fan of contemporary art, the works of artist Mark Rothko serve as a great guide on colour palettes. “You also just need to look around yourself, at Nature, to get inspired; for shades of manjal (yellow) that work with a leafy green, or even many variations of cream and off-white from strings of jasmine. Colours in Chennai are just so different and amazing,” he says.
His wardrobe for the season this year holds gifts from friends, pieces of sentimental value he remembers wearing from memorable performances in the past, and newer saris. “I’m particularly excited for a sari from designer Vijayalakshmi Krishna’s Aavaranaa. She has been a regular collaborator and has often given me honest feedback on what works and doesn’t,” he says.
Christopher deftly drapes the vibrant silks he picks out without a single safety pin as his costume, and adds two sashes around the waist; his signature style statement. “I also absolutely have to wear a vanki or an arm band. Without these two things, I feel lost onstage,” he laughs.
Harinie Jeevitha
Harinie Jeevitha
| Photo Credit:
A S Jayashri
Harinie Jeevitha says she has just finished a trip to Nalli, to look at saris for her costumes. The dancer, who has solo performances and is also a part of group productions this season, says she prioritises sustainability and affordability of the fabrics she picks for her costumes.
“I choose colours which might go well with the themes I am presenting. For instance, a performance centered on ‘shakti’ or female force means picking bright red or yellow. The venue and the lighting are factors that come into play as well,” she says. “Costumes are just an additional layer to your dance, not something which defines dance,” she adds.
While Harinie acknowledges the excitement of putting together new costumes for the season’s major solo shows, she also often does a mix-and-match with the costumes she already has. Picking fabrics like silk cotton, she says, ensures costumes can be worn multiple times . “I always pick traditional temple jewellery to complement my costumes — chokers with a gopuram design or the maanga haaram (long chain) are pieces that have a charm of their own,” she says. A student of Sheela Unnikrishnan, Harinie says she takes suggestions from her teacher’s sister, Kuchipudi exponent Shobha Korambil, for her costumes.
Eschewing the traditional tight, long braid or dancer’s bun, Harinie says she likes to style her hair in a loose braid. “This is a style I have worn onstage for many years now, and I do it for some performances,” she says, of her signature style onstage.
After years of performing and watching her peers and fellow dancers take the stage, Harinie says her admiration for them has only grown. “I’m constantly in awe of how beautifully they dress and carry themselves under the lights,” she says.
