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.
“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.