When the old and new walk in tandem, swapping of ideas between them makes the course more fertile.
Bharatanatyam, that has for long, served as an overture to South Indian religious and spiritual storytelling, has over the last few years, moved into a liberal space where universal ideas of sovereignty, philosophy, integrity, valour and credibility reign high.
“It’s a meaningful way forward,” says dancer and vocalist Padma Shri Geeta Chandran, who is one of the pioneers of this recalibration. Through her upcoming solo performance Gandhi: Warp and Weft, she uses the ubiquitous ideas of Gandhian philosophy to demonstrate this.
It’s not the first time she has moved out of the conventional skeleton of how things are done, nor is it the last. She uses each opportunity to reiterate the need to think outside of the box.
“Dance is my language. My spine speaks Bharatanatyam. But my engagement as a citizen brings me to new choices as to how I present the values I cherish. Sometimes I use pure classical to make an artistic statement but for Gandhi, I felt that the dance-theatre genre would be more appropriate. And in the scape of Gandhi’s developing ideology, I move the lens from the opening classical oeuvre to the more stark and dance-theatrical,” says Chandran.
The research for this piece began four months back. Through the vast literature that exists on Gandhi, she picked leaves that served as his core values.
“Things such as his openness towards all religions, non-violence and satyagraha. Also his lending a voice to universal human rights (as showcased by the section on manual scavenging in the performance) and of sustainable development as represented by khadi, are all Gandhian things to strive for,” she says.
She also finds herself partial to the section on celibacy where Gandhi uses ultimate yogic mettle to temper his body against desire and to make it focussed on the larger goal. The recital consists of six individual narratives performed over 60 minutes without an intermission. The initial choreography is based on abhinaya (the art of expressions), while the later is packaged as a contemporary take on Gandhian credo.
All this is set to music conceptualised by Chandran, with the synchronisation of Carnatic and abstract melodies. Sound artist Pratik Biswas has given it a formal framework. The costumes are by Sandhya Raman. They’re all in cotton and khadi to embrace Gandhian philosophy to the last detail.
He continues to live in our minds and through movement, Chandran brings his nuances out.
About the performance- The performance comprises of six concepts:
Religious unity: This references to Gandhi’s call for self-reliance and spiritual assimilation.
Celibacy: This looks into his experiments with abstinence while fulfilling the other responsibilities of the home.
Satyagraha: The construction of this piece draws from Gandhi’s writing from prison highlighting his mass movement towards civil disobedience, followed by the big Dandi march.
Ahimsa: A commitment to nonviolence in thought, words and actions is portrayed through this act. It also emphasises the need to not inflict harm on oneself through hunger strikes.
Caste and Shram: This highlights his stance on the dignity of labour and renunciation of caste atrocities.
Khadi: Self-reliance and ecological sustainability are at the core of this piece.
When: November 28, at 7:00 pm
Where: Kamani Auditorium, Copernicus Marg