Ahead of Valentine’s Day, Hyderabad-based Bharatanatyam danseuse Maithri Rao is set to stage Anuraga, a solo recital that portrays varied forms of love and celebrates different kinds of bonds with various compositions. Anuraga translates to affection, attachment, love and more. Describing the ‘love comes in various forms’ statement, Maithri, founder of Shivansh School of Arts says, “There is love or devotion towards Gods/Goddesses, love in terms of affection or compassion between a parent or a child, attachment to things/ objects which as a kid we had all experienced and of course, the Valentine’s Day celebration showcasing the the love between partners.”
Novel presentation
Maithri Rao | Photo Credit: Special arrangement
Featuring five pieces, the one-hour fifteen minute production depicts these different kinds of love including two compositions based on the love between God and devotee. The vocabulary of the show may be Bharatanatyam but the context is novel, especially in a piece titled My First Chair which revolves around a five year old getting a chair as a gift. The child gets attached to the chair and doesn’t like to share it with anybody. Interestingly, My First Chair, originally created by her as a short film in 2022 was premiered in Malabar Film festival, IMARP — Mostra Internacional de dança, Diorama International Film Festival, Shortfundly Annual film festival, the fifth International Folklore film festival 2022, Kalakari film fest and Loud Soul Music Festival.
Mother and daughter bond
During the presentation of ‘My First Chair’ | Photo Credit: Special arrangement
The repertoire also includes a piece depicting a mother-daughter relationship in the present-day scenario. “Mothers have become strong and are letting go of their daughters to pursue what they want to,” says Maithri, who shows how daughters are encouraged to become an astronaut or a pilot. “Mothers have become extremely supportive of the careers chosen by their daughters. The portrayal highlights this special bond/relationship.”
The five choreographies done individually a year ago were brought together three months ago as Anuraga with few changes in choreography. “Every choreography was inspired by something personal, like the composition which speaks about the relationship between mother and daughter; ‘My First Chair’ again has a lot of memories from my childhood and my possessive nature to things. The common among all these choreography was the concept of attachment and love and hence Anuraga.”
Highlighting contemporary issues | Photo Credit: Special arrangement
Did she face challenges while portraying contemporary issues in classical art form? “The use of mudras has been a challenge,” she says and explains, “Certain things like ‘remote’, ‘wrist watch’ or ‘pilot’ do not have pre-defined mudras hence I had to experiment with a few known mudras to figure out which communicates well. Music was also challenging as I used pre recorded music in the production. I had to also ensure choreographies are within the vocabulary of Bharatanatyam yet unique in presentation. I did a lot of iterations to reach the present day choreography.”
The presentation ends with a piece on Radha and Krishna.
Anuraga, a solo Bharatanatyam recital by Maithri Rao on February 9 at Saptaparni; Tickets ₹280 available on bookmyshow.com
