Did you know that calligraphy as an art form originated from Shiva’s tandav nrityaIJ Rama Vaidyanathan, Sharmila Biswas and Parvati Dutta highlight such lesser-known facts through their performances. By Shrabasti Mallik
What’s common between calligraphy and KathakIJ Most of you would say nothing, apart from the fact that both are creative forms. But here’s your chance to explore the world of calligraphy through the mudras of Kathak.
While most dancers are conceptualising themes that merge dance forms from across the globe, here’s a trio that’s using Indian classical dance as a medium to talk about another art form, that we may believe is not connected to dance at all. like calligraphy, miniature paintings and textiles.
In an ongoing festival Parkaya: The Body of Another, Kathak dancer Parvati Dutta, Bharatanatyam danseuse Rama Vaidyanathan and Odissi exponent Sharmila Biswas talk about calligraphy, miniature paintings and textiles in their performances.
Rama Vaidyanathan believes in pushing the boundaries of classical dance to create something new. Through Parkaya she entered the world of miniature paintings which depicted nature and episodes of Krishna’s life. “They were painted in the medieval ages somewhere in North India,” said the artist.
With an episode like lila Hava, which depicts Radha and Krishna exchanging clothes, Rama became both the characters. She also performed Dana lila wheregopis fight with Krishna and Ras lila which captures Radha and Krishna in a dancing pose along with seven other episodes. “I have choreographed the piece in such a way that it will seem as though the characters are stepping out and dancing as per the movements depicted in the paintings,” she shared.
Rama says that it is the unique theme of the festival which caught her attention. “I was intrigued by how we were asked to create a new choreography. It is only when you come out of your comfort zone that you do something spectacular and that’s what interested me. It was easy for me to execute the theme as Bharatanatyam is very versatile. It can be adapted to all other art forms,” she said. The origin of the written word and the script was brought alive by Kathak exponent Parwati Dutta.
Through a pieceAksharadhyana she narrated how writing a script is a spiritual act. The audience was educated about thePadmapuran which says that the structure of letters came from the crescent like movements of Shiva’s tandav nritya.
Her performance had to do more with the aesthetic and artistic aspect of calligraphy — how an abstract form with spontaneity and harmony can create a form of art. She said, “No two people will write the same letter in the same way and that is where it becomes abstract.”
Through her dance she showed harmony between the different cultures and religions. She glorified the energy of a written letter and the first written word. “For a speaker, a shabd (word) is of great satisfaction and is like a treatment. That is why I have tried to bring out the deeper meaning of every aspect of calligraphy — the letter, word and the script,” she said.
Kathak, owing to its lyrical nature, was the perfect medium. She could associate the fluid-like movements with the characteristics of calligraphy. “Kathak does not follow any particular line and every move is executed like a brush stroke. That made it all the more easier for me to express myself,” she pointed out.
In the concluding performance today, Odissi danseuse Sharmila Biswas will communicate with the audience through the medium of textiles. “I will be speaking through someone else’s body,” she said. In a significant piece she will narrate the Vedvati through the body of Sita (who is an incarnation of Vedvati). She explained, “Vedvati took another birth to seek revenge from Ravana.”
Through the performance she will also try to build a feeling of oneness with the textile material she is using. She has selected the best fabrics of Odisha — tribal textiles, bomkai, Mayurbhanj, Santhal handloom and dongria kondh textiles.
“I can relate with the essence of each of the fabrics because both Odissi and the textiles are from Odisha. There’s a sense of harmony and that is what I will be projecting,” she said. Even the music accompanying her performance is sourced from Odisha. She informed, “There will be tribal beats of Sambalpur and Daskathia along withjhoomar music. That apart, there will also be old traditional songs from the state.”