Ayyappa devotees bring alive divine story

Members of Jakarta's Indian community, mostly devotees of Lord Ayyappa, on Sunday evening traced back the life of a devotee of Ayyappa, son of Shiva and Vishnu, in a lively traditional dance performance.

Around 25 young dancers from the Prarthna Fine Arts school mesmerized the audience at Taman Ismail Marzuki in Central Jakarta with the melodies of the percussion ensemble interspersed with couple of haunting songs sung by two ladies.

Ranga Nathan, founding member and coordinator of Prarthna's mother organization, Jakarta Ayyappa Seva Sangam, said the Ayyappa Charitam dance was about tracing back the challenging journey of a prince, who later became Ayyappa, in climbing 18 steps to a sanctum in the hills of Sabarimala in the Indian province of Kerala.

With fervor and power, a group of between two and four performers took turns dancing to the music, playing with the metallic ringing produced by the bracelets on their red-striped feet.

Their dance highlighted the fast tapping of their feet to the music, with some slow beats occasionally breaking the heady rhythm of the 90-minute performance.

The Ayyappa Seva Sangam promises more performances from Nov. 14-16 at the Shiva Mandir in Pluit Barat Raya, North Jakarta, in a string of events to celebrate the 18th year of its organization.

-- JP/Lilian Budianto