Savitha Sastry has been an unusual find. Not many people knew her till her last show—Soul Cages, The story of life, death and Beyond in 2012. Her performance that evening changed everything for her. The show was path-breaking and connected the audience with the classical tradition of Bharatanatyam that few others had succeeded in. Back with her latest production, Yudh, being presented on March 24 at Kamani Auditorium, Sastry raises the bar even higher. “Many a time in our lives, we see perfectly good and innocent people face hardships beyond belief. Innocent children fall victim to cruelty which leaves us wondering if there is any divine justice. In Yudh, we focus on such an incident and look at it through three perspectives, those of humans, God and Satan. Each perspective offers a logical end in itself. We can all go back with answers, all of them valid but perhaps completely different. Yudh is not a story that ties with any religion, nor does it refute any. What we have is a stimulating experience brought to life with a clarity that perhaps no classical art form can deliver as Bharatanatyam can,” says Sastry.
An original production, Yudh proves to be a visual treat. The story and stage play by A K Srikanth, Sastry’s husband, was created specifically for this project. The music by the famous Chennai-based composer, Rajkumar Bharathi, is unusual and dramatic. “The music of Yudh, while strictly based on Indian ragas, would leave the audience in wonder when they find that the sound-track has such an international feel to it. Indian classical music can sound carnatic, Chinese or Arabic, without a note deviating from the raga as it should be.
Rajkumar has used a plethora of instruments to reach this level of perfection. The audience would also find the generous use of Zitar, Oudh, Viola along with traditional instruments,” she says. The show starts at 7 pm.
The Sunday Standard