Dance and arts converge against a backdrop of the Ramayana as Dasarathi Vaibhavam presents Ram Katha, a unique showcase of dance, and the Ramayanam, a pictorial calligraphy exhibition, on October 14 at Saptaparni in Hyderabad.
By Parameshwar Raju | Photo Credit: Special arrangement
Conceptualised by RK Usha, former director of Indian Council of Cultural Relations (ICCR) in Russia, the event brings together city-based calligrapher Poosapati Parameshwar Raju and Bengaluru-based Bharatanatyam dancer Sathyanarayana Raju.
By Parameshwar Raju | Photo Credit: Special arrangement
The pictorial calligraphy series Ramayanam depicts events from the epic — from Rama’s birth to his jala samadhi — through 54 calligraphic drawings of Parameshwar Raju’s. The series that began with 34 drawings in 2006, took seven years to complete; some of these works were displayed at a few exhibitions between 2008-2010 in Hyderabad and Delhi; the first Kochi-Muziris Biennale (2012); the Museum of Sacred Art in Brussels (2013); and a digital version of the collection was also showcased in ICCR Russia (2013-2018) (The exhibitions curated by Koeli Mukherjee Ghose)
Says Parmeshwar Raju, “I do only cultural narration, so it is not difficult to draw from the epics and Indian mythology. But I took time to understand how to draw the human figure in simplification.” He was speaking from Kochi where he participated in the International Calligraphy Festival (that concluded on October 5).
Sathyanarayana Raju and Parameshwar Raju | Photo Credit: Special arrangement
Among his Ramayana characters, he says drawing Manthara, a hunchback, took some time; Hanuman too was a challenge but remains one of his favourite characters. “I stumbled upon Anjaneya’s form when I was doing ‘Om’. Once I got the construction of that figure, I could do many others,” says the artist who has more than 40 drawings on Hanuman for different series.
Glad to collaborate with dancer Sathyanarayana Raju, he says, “Art and dance are two different forms and emotions, so we thought it would be nice to club them together. While the audience can see the expression and movement in dance, a pictorial version presents the image and emotion. Visitors will have a unique experience.”
“I was literally waiting for someone from Hyderabad to call me to perform Ram Katha; I love the city and look forward to performing here,” says Sathyanarayana Raju. He had last performed Dwaram, an innovative theatre production along with dancer Vani Ganapathy, nine years ago in Hyderabad.
Dance presentation | Photo Credit: Special arrangement
Ram Katha is a solo thematic dance presentation in which he plays various characters — Dasaratha, Kaikeyi, Sabari, Manthara, Jatayu, Guha and Hanuman. Living every character, changing body language and shifting between different emotions has been a memorable journey. “It is challenging,” he says on becoming different characters on stage. After performing Ram Katha, he takes a week to ‘take off these characters from body’. “My brain is stuck with these characters as I am constantly analysing on how to portray them.” However, the audience’s appreciation of ‘Naavu Sathyanarayana Raju na nodilla, real characters na nodivi (We didn’t see Sathyanarayana Raju, we saw the real characters in you) and some being moved to tears after watching his performance have helped him create an enduring appeal.
Sathyanarayana Raju. | Photo Credit: Special arrangement
This year, the dancer completes a decade of presenting the Ram Katha. After watching his shows in Bengaluru, Usha suggested he perform Ram Katha in 2013. Although Sathyanarayana Raju felt it had already been done by others, he relented after some brainstorming with Usha led to the duo creating this first performance to live music by Srivatsa. The Hyderabad performance will, however, have recorded music.
Dasarathi Vaibhavam is on at Saptaparni on October 14 from 6.30 pm onwards. Entry free; Ramayanam, the pictorial art exhibition continues till October 30.
