It was not a combat but a confluence of two art forms. An innovative concept of ‘A Raging Battle, With No End In Sight’ incorporated an erudite talk on Gods and Demons in Indian Painting by art historian B.N. Goswamy, followed by a Bharatanatyam performance of Malavika Sarukkai. A joint venture of NCPA, under the auspices of Sahachari Foundation Events and supported by Jai and Sugandha Hiremat Hikal, the event was hosted at the Experimental theatre, NCPA.
In her opening statement, Swapnokalpa Dasgupta, dance programme head, NCPA, expressed happiness in collaborating with the socially conscious Sahachari Foundation, which is completing ten years.
Visual imagery of paintings were detailed through scholarly lecture followed by intense dance that was sheer poetry in motion.
Art historian B.N. Goswamy
At 85, fortified by his passion for art, Goswamy for over an hour spoke at length about the religious iconography of pre-modern Indian paintings and the interface between gods and demons. He traced the mythological links of Diti (mother of Asuras), Aditi (mother of Devas) and common father Kashyapa rishi.
Using Kashmiri, Pahadi miniature paintings, Moghul paintings spread over three centuries as illustrations, he explained images of fleeing gods, grotesque and grimacing demons, greedy, gargantuan, devouring elephants, horrendous mouth of Mahishasura and so on.
“Gods are naïve enough to grant boons to asuras,” said Goswamy. The story of gods finding solutions to self-imposed problems was highlighted with references to samudra manthan, Bali — the pious asura, Devi Mahatmiyam, Krishna Poothana, Kesi madhana, etc.
The proof of the speaker’s mastery over both painting and poetry was evidenced in his free-flowing quotes from Mirza ghalib, regarding ‘alam tamam’ the universe around us in one roof and ghazals like ‘Mein kisi ka husna e khyal hoon.’
Malavika Sarukkai
Carrying forward the picturesque interpretation, the epic battle between gods and demons was highlighted in an exquisite Bharatanatyam presentation by Malavika Sarukkai .
The methodical movements of Malavika around the stage drew a broader picture of the aesthetics that a painter contains within a few square centimeters. Dance movements brought out the visual depth of the paintings.
Taking a traditional subject easy to comprehend by all, Malavika with her creative vision in choreography added an innovative component to Mahishasuramardhini.
“Raging battle between Gods and Demons, positive and negative energies, divine and asuric forces, outer and inner, as depicted in the Mahishasuramardhini episode was the narrative, influenced by painting and sculptural representation,” said Malavika.
“To bring out this epic battle I had to dismantle older structures. I couldn’t go back to the traditional repertoire,” said Malavika.
“I used uneven numbers 9, 7, 5, 3 to denote imbalance, characteristic of demons. While Devi rides on number 4, chatusram, symbolising eternal quality,” she added, talking of the instinctive exploration.
The rhythmic sequences set by M.S. Sukhi were apt and appealing. S. Srilatha on the nattuvangam, Murali Parthasarathy on the vocal, Nellai A. Balaji on the mridangam and Srilakshmi Venkataramani on the violin comprised the live orchestra team.
Light effects by Sharad Kulshreshtha added an edge to the recital. Establishing the persona of the goddess, Malavika went round and round in rhythmic grace, arms extended encompassing the space; the very picture of Devi.
‘Aigiri Nandini’ and the conch sounds on violin was a sonorous sojourn. Graceful metaphors in ‘noopuram’ and ‘angulyam’ were a visual delight.
When the Simham, Devi’s mount, jumps, sequentially moving onward, the audience squirmed in their seats, fearing it would jump on them. Such was the energy of the dancer.
The final conquest of the Mahisha, with Devi in a seated stance was graphic.
Lines from Devi Suktam “Ya devi sarva bhuteshu” accosted the various swroopams of Buddhi, Shanti, Shraddha and Lakshmi, in an esoteric end segment.
The power of abstraction was brought out through the authority of dance art. Depiction of eternal unending contest between devas and danavas, the Titanic struggle of good over evil was clear and coherent. It was a confluence in elucidation that made for edifying entertainment.
