Uploaded June 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 hours ago
Arunagirinathar is a 14th century Tamil poet best known for his Thiruppugazh which is a collection of poems in praise of Lord Muruga. The legend goes that Arunagirinathar led a life of debauchery and attempted to take his own life. Saved by Lord Muruga himself, he spent the rest of his life writing poems in praise of Lord Muruga which were compiled into the Thiruppugazh. Aingaranai Otha Manam is one of these poems. The choreography will start with this story of Arunagirinathar. In the later half of the song, there is a conversation between the violin, the mridangam and sollu kattu. This will be used to depict an incident mentioned in the poem about a boy swallowed by a crocodile who was returned to life by Lord Shiva a few years later. The story goes thus: Two young boys were playing by the river when one of them got dragged in and eaten by a crocodile. Years later, a saint witnesses the contrasting emotions in the two boys’ households, one filled with joy and gratitude for their child’s safety while the other with grief and anger at his untimely loss. Wishing to alleviate their pain, the saint prays to Lord Shiva and watches in wonder as the boy is returned alive by the very same crocodile.
Performed remotely by Meghna Rao, Shreenidhi Ravishankar and Varshaa Naganathan
Music from the IndianRaga fellowship production performed by Vidya Lakshmi, Sushmitha Ravikumar and Reetesh Sudhakar.
Watch the music video at youtu.be/Klkk3273AvA
Social media links:
Varshaa Naganathan - instagram.com/naatya.mazhai
Meghna Rao - instagram.com/meghnaraodance
Shreenidhi Ravishankar - instagram.com/shreer.11
To feature in an IndianRaga production, apply to be an IndianRaga Fellow at indianraga.com/fellowship
IndianRaga brings together the best musicians and dancers across 60 international cities to collaborate on high quality music videos viewed by millions of people globally. The genres we work with are rooted in Indian classical performing arts and include Carnatic music (South Indian classical music), Hindustani music (North Indian classical music), semi-classical music, contemporary and fusion music, Indian classical dances including Bharatanatyam, Kuchipudi, Odissi, Mohiniattam, Kathak, and also ballet, tap, contemporary dance. Our productions also include a wide range of instruments including mridangam, tabla, sitar, violin, flute/bansuri, veena, ghatam, and new-age categories like music arrangement and production with EDM, Trap, Pop amongst others. Our most popular innovations include classical cover songs, a cappella, mashups and remixes of the latest viral pop hits in both western and Indian music. Anyone can apply to join our collaborations, and you can visit indianraga.com for more details and application process.
Arunagirinathar is a 14th century Tamil poet best known for his Thiruppugazh which is a collection of poems in praise of Lord Muruga. The legend goes that Arunagirinathar led a life of debauchery and attempted to take his own life. Saved by Lord Muruga himself, he spent the rest of his life writing poems in praise of Lord Muruga which were compiled into the Thiruppugazh. Aingaranai Otha Manam is one of these poems. The choreography will start with this story of Arunagirinathar. In the later half of the song, there is a conversation between the violin, the mridangam and sollu kattu. This will be used to depict an incident mentioned in the poem about a boy swallowed by a crocodile who was returned to life by Lord Shiva a few years later. The story goes thus: Two young boys were playing by the river when one of them got dragged in and eaten by a crocodile. Years later, a saint witnesses the contrasting emotions in the two boys’ households, one filled with joy and gratitude for their child’s safety while the other with grief and anger at his untimely loss. Wishing to alleviate their pain, the saint prays to Lord Shiva and watches in wonder as the boy is returned alive by the very same crocodile.
Performed remotely by Meghna Rao, Shreenidhi Ravishankar and Varshaa Naganathan
Music from the IndianRaga fellowship production performed by Vidya Lakshmi, Sushmitha Ravikumar and Reetesh Sudhakar.
Watch the music video at youtu.be/Klkk3273AvA
Social media links:
Varshaa Naganathan - instagram.com/naatya.mazhai
Meghna Rao - instagram.com/meghnaraodance
Shreenidhi Ravishankar - instagram.com/shreer.11
To feature in an IndianRaga production, apply to be an IndianRaga Fellow at indianraga.com/fellowship
IndianRaga brings together the best musicians and dancers across 60 international cities to collaborate on high quality music videos viewed by millions of people globally. The genres we work with are rooted in Indian classical performing arts and include Carnatic music (South Indian classical music), Hindustani music (North Indian classical music), semi-classical music, contemporary and fusion music, Indian classical dances including Bharatanatyam, Kuchipudi, Odissi, Mohiniattam, Kathak, and also ballet, tap, contemporary dance. Our productions also include a wide range of instruments including mridangam, tabla, sitar, violin, flute/bansuri, veena, ghatam, and new-age categories like music arrangement and production with EDM, Trap, Pop amongst others. Our most popular innovations include classical cover songs, a cappella, mashups and remixes of the latest viral pop hits in both western and Indian music. Anyone can apply to join our collaborations, and you can visit indianraga.com for more details and application process.
