The evening was all about confluences. Whether it was art, poets or philosophies — every gentle turn and twist was interesting and informative. Beyond Borders was all about bridging poetry, lyrics, music, and dance. Organised by the Coimbatore Arts and Theatrical Society, the leitmotif of the evening was Bhakti poetry.
The recital brought together short performances by Karunasagari who prefaced each dance with narration. Her words illustrated Yashoda playing with baby Krishna, the blossoming of the Kandhal flower and a soul-enriching array of life truths. From the language of words, she moved seamlessly into the language of dance and all of us joined in the conversation in our own ways.
The four-part event had dance and poetry where poems and music were chosen in keeping with each part. Akka Mahadevi spoke about the fallacy of mankind and Andal evoked the yearning of the heart. Surdas brought home the paradoxes of Lord Krishna and Annamacharya illustrated the oneness with the Lord. It was truly about dissolving the human borders that divide us into isolated grids.
Incidentally, one of the interesting things I noticed was the complete lack of salangai oli . Karuna chose not to wear the traditional bells on her feet because she did not want any distraction when talking about Bhakti in her dance.
Openness and oneness perhaps is the only way to transcend many a border. The one thought I came away with was Thirugnanasambandar talking about the Lord having 84,000 crore temples because He lives in the 84,000 crore species of the world. So perhaps the next time you want to feel a sense of connection with your chosen God, just be kind to all the living and non-living beings around you!
