From ‘Invoking the river’.
‘Invoking the river’ is an attention-grabbing manufacturing, which tells the story of a river by means of visuals and music and dance performances. It has been conceived by the San Francisco-based Chitresh Das Institute. The music is by pianist Utsav Lal of New York. Tabla artiste Zuheb Ahmed, who relies in Delhi, was roped in for the India tour of the manufacturing, which premiered in 2022 in San Francisco and San Jose.
The river being invoked is the mysterious Saraswati. Alka Raghuram opens the present narrating how river Ganga descends on earth from Shiva’s locks. The sounds of the mild lapping of water and crashing waves set the tone as 4 dancers, representing 4 rivers, enter the stage. The costumes in blue, deep inexperienced and black evoked the subliminal picture of water whereas the gold Benarasi motifs sparkled with the actions. It introduced alive the imagery of sunshine on water.
The tabla stored the Teentaal beat to match the dancers’ footwork. Choreographer Charlotte Moraga described the piece as representing river Alaknanda’s joyful journey to earth.
The manufacturing comprised six items, every one telling a distinct story. The choreography additionally aptly focussed on the rivers being choked by pollution. Mayuka Sarukkai highly effective portrayal was accompanied by Utsav’s staccato notes on the piano.
Shruti Pai selected the story of social reformer Kandukuri Veerasalingam to depict river Godavari. Introduced up in Rajamundry, a city by the aspect of the river, Veerasalingam labored for ladies’s rights. By way of raag Kedara and Jhaptaal, Shruti’s efficiency threw gentle on the lives of widows.
The ultimate piece, which introduced collectively all of the 4 dancers, extolled river Saraswati, who it mentioned at the moment exists solely in hymns. The usage of pure dance right here was refreshing.
What made this manufacturing participating was the approaching collectively of various genres of music and a various motion vocabulary. The props, background music, and costumes enhanced the impact.
