Doors signify so many things. The entrance to something; new beginnings; conclusions; opportunities as in the saying, ‘if one door shuts another opens.’ Then there is the door to freedom and enlightenment. Doors can mean anything. For Vani Ganapathy, it translates into ‘Dwaram,’ a production comprising several episodes and short stories about aspects of life through the language of Bharatanatyam.
Vani’s foray into the world of dance, began when she was just 4 years old. Her mother got her into dance and her training began with T. A. Rajalakshmi in Kolkata. Moving to Mumbai, her training continued under nattuvanars of the same bani, Mahalingam Pillai, Govindaraja Pillai and Kalyanasundaram. Fame came when Vani performed along with her sister, Meera — and it was not long before both were featured at all the big events and festivals.
The combination of Vani and Meera, with their mother Indubala’s vocal support and Guru Kalyanasundaram’s intricate choreography, mesmerised audiences and they were often asked to perform at the Raj Bhavan in Bombay for every foreign or Indian dignitary who visited.
She had also presented a serial, ‘The Rich Heritage’ for Doordarshan on the four main classical idioms of dance. Since then, Vani has been performing and also runs a dance school, Sanchari, in Bangalore and trains select students.
“I don’t promise them a career in dance, which is why I don’t take too many students. But they come and want to learn from me,” she says, looking as ageless as ever. She is also an interior designer and has several interests that she pursues with similar passion.
In Chennai for ‘Dwaram,’ to be staged this evening ( Feb 6 ) at the Narada Gana Sabha , she talks about what it entails and what she seeks to communicate through the ‘Doors’ of dance.
“I have been dancing all this while, contrary to what people believe. And I have also been doing productions such as ‘Colours of Krishna’ and ‘Panchakanya,’ which are subjects known to people. But ‘Dwaram’ is a question mark in the minds of people. When I say it is an autobiography of a door, there are even more questions. This production also needed more technical support and people to get it going. ‘Dwaram’ is all about the tales and secrets that it (door) holds.’’
“If the doors could speak, what tales would it be privy to? So this is what I have tried to do with this concept and put it in such a way that dance is integral to it all.”
Basically, Vani brings together many short stories in a medley, “about people, and their lives behind doors - their happiness, squabbles, teasings and so on. There are stories that speak of challenges, joys and sorrows and the wonderful ordinary occurrences that make up life.’’
Tales are taken from a spectrum of lives, apart from mythology and history (Sankaracharya, Bharati, the Gita Govindam for instance).
Satyanarayan Raju, a disciple of guru Narmada and Vani, will also perform to the compositions of Srivatsa, who will also sing them.
How did it all come about? Vani says, “Brahma Gana Sabha wanted her to do a production for the ‘Season’. But I thought during that time audiences get distributed – I feel this is a better time when there are no major festivals going on and we can get as many people as possible to see the show.”
The drawings for the sets, costumes (designed by her) were first sketched and then made with different material to get the kind of look they required. “There are a lot of doors and door frames that add to the mood and the ambience of the stories.” With a live ensemble music and designed lighting, Vani hopes the show can travel beyond borders.
She adds, “Who knows I might change the languages (‘Samskritam’, Telugu and Tamil) to suit the place where it will show - have Meera Bai or Abhangs instead. It is organic right now. And will evolve like the way life does and stories do.”
