You all know about Kabir, Tulsi and Mira. But do you know about Lal Ded and Ganga Sati? I am sure many of you have not even heard about these names. And this is precisely why you should attend Eternal Quest, to get a glimpse into the lives of ‘these lesser-known poets of India’s Bhakti movement.
An exploration of the works of select women saint poets of India, the programme being held at Stein Auditorium, India Habitat Centre today has three noted dance exponents, Shovana Narayan (Kathak), Ranjana Gauhar (Odissi) and Rashmi Vaidialingam (Kuchipudi), dancing to the ‘tunes’ of women saint poets of India.
“India had a rich Bhakti movement but there are many saint poets who have gone unsung, uncelebrated. This programme is an ode to them,” says Narayan, who will be presenting a 20-minute kathak performance on the works of Lal Ded from Kashmir and Ganga Sati from Gujarat. The works of both these women are about getting rid of the ego.
Narayan read about their life journey and the experiences they had to get to know that both the lives were about overcoming the trials in life by removing the ego within. “If you have cleaned yourself from the inside, you will have love for everyone and won’t look down upon anyone. That’s attainment of eternal pleasure,” she says.
“While Lal Ded’s life was full of challenges from childhood, Ganga Sati had a comfortable life. But both had spiritual bent of mind. They always discouraged strict adherence to rituals, and stressed on a person being more humane,” she says, adding that it is very symbolic to what women, rich or poor, go through everywhere.
Vaidialingam’s Kuchipudi recital is based on Mirabai’s bhajan Chalo Man Ganga Jamuna Teer.
“The lives of these saints are fascinating. In their eternal quest to be one with the divine, they completely surrendered themselves. I am doing Mirabai as she was considered to be one of the main proponents of the Bhakti movement,” says Vaidyalingam.
Gauhar will be presenting an ashtapadi from Jayadev’s Geet Govindam. “My piece talks about Radha and her eternal love for Krishna,” she says.
As sutradhar, Alka Raghuvanshi will interpret the messages of the poets shown through the dances for the audiences.Talking about how they came upon this ‘different’ topic, “she says it was a mutual decision.
“As artistes, we want to explore newer horizons every time we perform. As women empowerment and all the talk had become too much, we thought of performing on Bhakti movement. A friend had written a book on Bhakti movement which she gave us to read and impressed with it we decided to work on it,” says Vaidyalingam.
Giving an insight into the Bhakti movement, Vaidyalingam says, “The Bhakti movement started in the South India and then travelled upwards to the North. These were Vaishnavites who basically worshipped Vishnu and Krishna. A lot of women saint poets grew up under a strong influence of religion, but they broke all societal shackles with their devotion to God.” “In the end it’s all about oneness with God, aatma ka parmatma se milan,” concludes Narayan.