'Parikrama: The Journey of the Atman' mesmerises with abstract brilliance at Delhi dance festival
At a time when Indian classical dancers and choreographers explore newer, more contemporary themes beyond Indian mythology through their dance forms, the theme of 'atma' (or 'soul), remains largely unexplored.
This is a complex one, too, given that the soul is formless with little references available, and much room for one's interpretation and imagination.
A powerful interpretation of this idea came to life on stage during day 2 of the Kendra Dance Festival—a three-day dance drama festival organised by Delhi-based Shriram Bharatiya Kala Kendra, currently underway at the Kamani Auditorium in New Delhi.
Utilising a mix of the Mayurbhanj Chhau and Kalaripayattu, 'Parikrama: The Journey of the Atman' showcased the soul's journey within a body's birth, life, and liberation: how life commences from the Hiranyagarbha, or the Golden Egg, a state where nothing was and everything is.
The soul has to withstand the five elements—ether, wind, fire, water, and earth—after which it descends upon earth through its union with the body, which is the birth.
The soul, initially, is in harmony with the five senses of sight, smell, sound, touch, and taste.
However, the senses soon take over. There's discord and conflict, and the soul soon becomes fatigued, and a desire for liberation sets in.
Thus begins the arduous journey of its fight against the five senses, culminating in liberation. The full cycle, or 'parikrama', of birth, death, and Moksha (liberation) is complete.
While the theme is powerful and so was the execution, the relevance of the production, which goes back to 1994, also deserves much applause.
"In devising the script, I kept in mind that abstract ideas should be understandable," explains Shobha Deepak Singh, festival director and SBKK chairperson, in a press note.
"When we started working on this production, I felt it was a different world altogether. The concept was so different. There's much room for imagination," choreographer Shashidharan Nair tells THE WEEK.
"We started creating the production, however, the most challenging part was to conceptualise ether or sky. Then a Sanskrit scholar told me, 'Anything that is shunya is sky'. And that's how we created the element of sky," he adds.
As Mayurbhanj Chau puts more emphasis on bodily expressions than facial ones, hair showcased the element of fire, movement of hands showcased the elements of fire and earth, and the beautiful moment of birth mesmerised audiences as the dancers kept their facial expressions to a minimum.
The end of the production was met with a standing ovation by the audience.
"When you're on stage, it's never not challenging. But there is so much freedom in a challenge as great as this," says Shivam Sahni, the lead dancer, who played Atman.
"This is a character that tempts you to do a lot, but that restraint is very important," he says about his abstract character.
Although Mayurbhanj Chau struggled with popularity a few years back, "it's currently very popular," comments Nair.
The festival is set to close on Thursday with a performance on 'Karna'.
Society