Mumbai city is gearing up for ‘Charishnu,’ a grand teamwork, spearheaded by Leela Samson, scheduled on August 3 at the Jamshed Bhabha Theatre, NCPA. Sahachari Foundation had presented ‘Charishnu’ ten years ago at the NCPA. It celebrates its decade-long journey as collaborators by bringing this iconic production back at the NCPA.
Conceived and choreographed by Leela Samson, ‘Charishnu’ weaves together six genres — Bharatanatyam (Leela Samson), Odissi (Aruna Mohanty), Manipuri (Priti Patel), Mohiniyattom, Kathakali (Sadanam Balakrishnan) and Kathak (Aditi Mangaldas) and drumming and Martial arts Thangta (Imocha Singh), a veritable constellation of icons. It is a positive example of togetherness beyond protecting and sensitivity to one’s own creative space.
Charishnu, meaning ‘the desire to move’, was born rather unexpectedly, through a requisition from the Ministry of Tourism in 2005. “They wanted me to work on a multi-form presentation that represented India for the opening of the Ministry’s Tourism office in Shanghai,” recalls Leela Samson.
Widening Circle- Kathak dance by Aditi Mangaldas during the NCPA Mudra Dance Festival 2018 at Tata Theatre, NCPA on 22/04/2018. Photos By : NARENDRA DANGIYA
Featuring nearly 50 artistes, this seamless production was conceived at a time when multi-dance style collaborations were a rare phenomenon. It is interesting to note that ‘Charishnu’ is able to retain the same collaborating lead dancers. Each of the dancers will present both individual and collective arrangements, celebrating the uniqueness of each style.
Othello : Kathakali dance performance by Sadanam Balakrishnan & troup in Nakshatra Dance Festival at Experimental Theatre,NCPA on 27/10/2013. Photo By : NARENDRA DANGIYA
“What is incredible is the love and respect among the artistes and the fun we have presenting this,” says Samson. “One has to believe in the production. We did not find much to add or subtract after so many years,” she adds.
Sahachari Foundation, a charitable trust founded by women from business families Nilima Kilachand, Minakshi Bajaj, Parul Choksey, Brinda Khatau, Sheela Bhogilal and many others, besides supporting many NGOs and social causes, have been collaborating with NCPA to present exceptional music and dance productions.
“Sahachari is celebrating its 10th year and I am thrilled that they chose to present ‘Charishnu’, a production we had done for them a decade ago,” says Samson.
“This year is very special for the NCPA as it celebrates 50 years of service to the Arts. The year also marks the 10th anniversary of our long-time collaborator Sahachari Foundation. Most fascinating part of Charishnu is that it has been able to retain the same collaborating dancers, who are some of the biggest names in their fields,” informs Swapnokalpa Dasgupta, Head, Dance Programming, NCPA.
“The NCPA was set up when I was finishing my course in dance at Kalakshetra. So in a sense, my generation of artistes, whether in music, dance or drama has grown with this iconic institution,” says Samson.
