Rich visual tapestry

The players blended seamlessly in Thari-The Loom, but the thread went missing as the vehicle of metaphor

From Malavika Sarukkai’s latest production, ‘Thari-The Loom’

“The sound of the looms in Kanchipuram spoke to me in rhythms that has always been a part of my life in dance. Inspired by the rhythms of the loom, I visualised the threads — the vital elements of the loom — come alive as dancing bodies,’’ says Malavika Sarukkai about her latest dance production ‘Thari-The Loom,’ which was presented recently at The Music Academy as a fund-raiser event organised by ‘Friends of Dakshinachitra.’

The production, inspired by the traditional unstitched garment — the sari — was conceived as a visual expression, exploring the concepts of space, structure, symmetry, proportion, rhythm, motif and design, shared by the two disciplines — dance and weaving.

Divided into three sections titled, ‘The Loom, Warp and Weft and Sari,’ Malavika chose to express her ideas through the idiom and grammar of Bharatanatyam — her medium of artistic expression.

Six dancers entered the stage dancing to the rhythmic sounds of the loom played in the soundtrack and slowly moved across the stage in vertical and horizontal lines representing the art of weaving. The structure of the loom, interweaving of threads and the passage of shuttles across the warp came alive in the synchronised movements of the dancers. Rhythmic composition and sound recording by Sai Shravan captured the sounds of the loom effectively.

Memorable bond

“My first brush with the sari are the memories of my mother draped in it, my personal experience as I draped it on myself as a teenager...” went the narrative in Malavika’s voice as each of the five saris in the background came alive one after the other, under the golden glow of the spotlight.

The dramatic impact of this idea, however, was not explored in detail as the dance progressed.

The Warp and the Weft representing the Constant and the Variable, had been choreographed with dancers moving in parallel lines and intersecting one another at intervals to interpret the interweaving of threads.

Aided by the pattern of lighting, at the four corners of the stage, the dancers’ movements followed the glow, beautifully establishing the boundaries of the woven fabric. Aditya Prakash’s musical phrases blended seamlessly with the dance .

A Surdas bhajan at the end of this segment, which portrays Krishna as the constant Warp and Radha as the Variable, seemed out of place in the context of the theme.

The third segment with a musical ragamalika talamalika score by Prof. C.V.Chandrasekhar and lyric by Dr. S. Raghuraman, sought to highlight the emotions attached to the sari.

Working on the concept of the two borders that edge the Kanchipuram sari, Ganga-Jamuna, Malavika looked at them as a metaphor for life, visualising the borders as the banks of two mighty rivers, within which we experience life and death.

The parrot, peacock and swan, frequently used as motifs in saris, were explored with the corresponding iconic and mythological references to Kamadeva, Muruga and Saraswathi, as narrative sancharis. In a choreographic pattern relying on abstract representation, these narratives distracted attention from the images of the birds that formed the focal point.

Since the show rested on the connection between weaving and dance, the inclusion of the weaver and his angst would have been more meaningful. The entire production had an abstract quality with focus on geometric and linear movements. In this context, bringing in narratives revolving round Krishna or Muruga evoked the images of gods on the pallu of a sari with geometric patterns on its body, which to me seemed a little disconnected.

Cohesive whole

Thari was a collective effort with every department involved in the production blending into a cohesive whole. The rich musical score, choreographic concept, sensitive use of space, effective co-ordination of movements, poems and narration at appropriate moments and a brilliant lighting design made this production a rich visual tapestry.

Sumantra Ghosal for script poems and narration, Gyan Dev Singh (lighting design), Malavika Sarukkai (concept and choreography) and Sandhya Raman (costume design) were the creative collaborators along with the musicians. Malavika Sarukkai, Jyotsna Jagannathan, Shruthipriya Ravi, Aditya P.V, Shreema Upadhyaya and Nidhag Karunad BM were the dancers.