Richard Bach’s allegorical novella Jonathan Livingston Seagull gets a Bharatanatyam makeover

In recent years, Bharatanatyam has moved beyond its traditional repertoire, drawing inspiration from poetry, novels and social issues to explore new themes. ‘Jyotir Gamaya’, choreographed and produced by Jayanthi Subramaniam, was one such. An adaptation of Richard Bach’s allegorical novella Jonathan Livingston Seagull, it was presented recently at The Music Academy as part of the Provoke Art Festival 2026.

One such interesting production was ‘Jyotir Gamaya’, an adaptation of Richard Bach’s allegorical novella, Jonathan Livingston Seagull, presented recently at The Music Academy as part of the Provoke Art Festival 2026.

With music by Rajkumar Bharathi, the production focused on the guru-sishya parampara, highlighting the bond between a teacher and a disciple. It showed how, besides imbibing the values of life and art, the system gives disciples the space and freedom to pursue their dreams.

Jonathan Livingston Seagull is the story of a seagull who believes that life has a larger purpose than the daily struggle for food. He is troubled by other gull’s mundane approach to life. His different outlook eventually leads to his expulsion from the flock.

In the opening scene, the dancers established this philosophical thought by tracing the course of a river as it flowed from the mountains, through valleys and plains, before merging with the ocean. The idea found further expression in the depiction of fishermen setting out to sea with gulls flocking around to fight over scraps of fish. While Thodi raga set the mood for the scenes, the dancers recreated the imagery of birds searching for food through suitable hastamudras and neck movements.

In the following sequence, Sumithra Subramaniam portrayed the Seagull’s sustained efforts to reach great heights. The bird’s initial movements were grounded, much like a dancer beginning with the thattu adavu. These gradually progressed into leaps and circular brahmaris. Gati bedam and different types of tanams were used to capture variations in Jonathan’s movements. Raga Hamsadhwani was chosen to trace Jonathan’s steady progress in speed. The range of emotions the gull experienced during this journey was conveyed with clarity.

Next, the narrative shifted to the flock, which admonishes Jonathan for daring to be different. Here, red was used effectively in the costume to evoke their anger.

Undeterred, Jonathan continues his quest to soar high and encounters two luminous gulls (depicted by S. Aparajitha and Shruthi Vidyashankar) during his journey, who lead him to the elder gull (played by Jayanthi Subramaniam). The Elder Gull imparts Jonathan the highest truths of life and flight.

The final sequence showed Jonathan returning to teach his flock. Presented as a thillana, the piece culminated in the chanting of the Pavamana Mantra ‘Asato Ma Sadgamaya’ from the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad.

The music seamlessly intertwined with the movements of the dancers (jathis were composed by Prof. C.V. Chandrashekar). Rajkumar Bharathi’s soulful rendition, with Nandini Anand lending vocal support, enhanced the aural appeal. The orchestra included V. Veda Krishnan (mridangam), S. Ganapathy (tabla), Embar Kannan (violin), Vishnu Vijay (flute), T. Bhavani Prasad (veena) and Kishore Kumar (sitar). The voice-over, by Govind Venkateshwar, tied the scenes together well. The music was recorded and mixed by Sai Shravanam. The LED projections (paintings by Sumithra Subramaniam, and animations for LED by Team Provoke), and lighting (V.G. Jayant) captured the mood of the scenes.