World of the Apsaras by Kogilavani Krishnamorty | Short Story Review

A Short Story Review on Apsara

Written M.Navin

• http://vallinam.com.my/navin/?p=5259 
• Short Story on Apsara by Writer M.Navin, Malaysia

• http://vallinam.com.my/navin/?p=5266
• Short story Review by Kogilavani Krishnamorty

Apsara is the most important name of my life. Even the name has to keep ensuing me for the rest of my life. I like to pronounce this name every day. I always pronounce it full of my feelings as a dancer and apprehend the meaning in it.

Apsara is a type of female spirit of the clouds and waters in Hindu and Buddhist culture. In Indian mythology, apsaras are beautiful, supernatural female beings. They are youthful and elegant and superb in the art of dancing. They are wives of the Gandharvas, the court musicians of Indra. They dance to the music made by the Gandharvas, usually in the palaces of the gods, to entertain and sometimes seduce gods and men.

As Maria says in the story, there are plenty of texts and resources to tell all this. “Art is about working from the known to the unknown,” is the lifeblood of the story. The story is not only about the Apsara dance, it depicts the event of joining something unknown. If a person feels deeply dependent on one another, unknown events will occur in their life. The power of believing in something will take place. In the story, Chandavi, Maria, Shama, and Abrami could see the miracle only after believing that Angkor Wat was the land of the Apsaras. After trusting in one matter, the mind begins to love it. Those feelings will perform all the miracles around us.

Angkor Wat is truly the world of the Apsaras. There are over 2,000 Apsara statues. As a dancer, I can feel precisely how amazing it would be if each statue would come to life. The Apsara dance, the traditional dance of Cambodia, appeared just by looking at the Apsara statues in Angkor Wat. The sound of the forest around Angkor Wat blew out throughout the Angkor Wat. During sunset, the sound of the forest continues to polish the musical pattern. The beauty of the pond in Angkor Wat is mind-boggling. Congratulations to the writer M.Navin who brought all this beauty in his storyline.

M.Navin has brought some interesting dance features in this story very precisely which dancers like to read.

‘பரதம் அழுத்தமான அசைவுகொண்ட திடமான தீபம் போன்றது. அப்சராக்களின் நடனம் அந்த தீபத்திலிருந்து எழும் புகையைப் போன்றது,” என்றாள்.’

‘பரதத்தில் தோள்களும் இடையும் அசையாது. அப்சராக்களுடையவை அதற்கு நேர் எதிரான நடனம்.’

Absolutely, Bharatanatyam has powerful movements. There are no movements for the waist and the shoulders. Meanwhile, the Apsara dance is similar to the elegance of smoke. Such a comparison could have been made only if the dance very closely. I was thrilled to read a line comparison of Bharatanatyam and Apsara dance

It could have been a 100-year-old duration story. Santhavi was old when she met Maria. According to Shama, Maria is an old woman. Abrami also met Shama with a notebook that she had kept for 40 years. It could have been a chain connection among them. When they manage to convince someone of the secret where Angkor Wat is Apsara’s world, the door is opened for them to join the Apsara’s world; They become the statue of Apsara. So, there was always a representative to tell this secret. In addition, the number of Apsaras who are dancing in Angkor Wat every night keeps increasing. As a dancer, I was delighted with the concept.

After reading the story some questions appear in my mind. What if Shama has been working in Angkor Wat for 40 years without continuing to be a newspaper reporter? Did she watch the Apsaras dance every night? Is she looking for a person who believes Angkor Wat is the world of Apsaras? Or else Shama was preparing her soul and body to join the world of Apsara? Is the 40 years would have been enough for her if she had been prepared for it?

This story will always be close to my soul. My thanks and congratulations to writer M.Navin. The primary work of the Apsaras is to spread the arts around the world. May Apsara's short story of writer M.Navin will help to spread the arts of his writing in Tamil Literature. 

அப்சராக்களின் முதன்மையான வேலையே கலைகளைப் பரப்பவதுதான், அதேபோல், ம.நவீன் எனும் எழுத்தாளனின் கலையைப் பரப்ப அப்சரா சிறுகதை துணைப்புரியும் என நம்புகிறேன்.