To celebrate the works of one of the greatest Tamil poets, Subramania Bharathi, the U.S.-based Odissi dancer Prasanna Karthik decided to present some of his verses through the dance form.
“Since I am passionate about Tamil literature, especially Bharatiyar’s poems, I thought why not convey its essence through Odissi. Something that has not been attempted earlier. I am happy that this way I will be able to share his amazing works with non-Tamil speaking people,” says Prasanna, who is married into the Mahakavi’s family.
Her guru Nandita Behera has choreographed the pieces. “Since she cannot understand Tamil, I translated every line for her. It was an exciting process. Though we were initially apprehensive about the outcome, I am happy with the positive response to the video,” says Prasanna.
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“Dance and poetry are beyond language. It is the emotion that matters,” adds the young dancer, who is gearing up to do more such productions.