THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Some of the most fascinating characters of the Mahabharata will come alive in an Indo-French contemporary dance collaboration which is to be staged at the Tagore Theatre on November 15.
‘Buddha the Why Within’ will also feature ‘’subtle influences’’ of Chi-Gung, the Chinese martial art, organisers Alliance Française de Trivandrum (AFT) said on Thursday. The performance will showcase characters like Arjuna, his Naga wife Uloopi and their son Aravan (Iravan) and Barbarika, the son of Ghatotkacha.
Described as a crossover attempt of Indian and European movement art, ‘Buddha the Why Within’ is described as a transcendental journey of love, hate, deception, aspiration and desolation. “ The story reverberates the voices of some unsung characters of the Mahabharata, which seldom surfaces in the glory of the epic, but has a huge impact in the soulful realization of oneself in the epic as well as in the society,” AFT said in a statement.
However, the dance project is not intended to celebrate the righteousness of religion or the eight fold path of the Buddha, but it attempts to trace a soulful and a powerful journey of one’s belief to what religion really is and where it takes, the statement said. Through the lives of the characters from the great epic, the performers aim to offer a commentary on contemporary society. The performance will be staged at the Tagore Theatre at 6.30 p.m. For details of the performance, visit culture.trivandrum@afindia.org, Ph: 0471 2320666, 6578808.