NCPA Nakshatra Dance Festival, 2019

Celebrating 50 remarkable years of the NCPA, the Nakshatra Dance Festival is back with some iconic productions presented over the past decade as well as some new works by masters of the form. The festival aims to feature innovative group choreographies. This year brings stellar performances by eminent choreographers such as Ranjana Gauhar & troupe (Odissi), Saswati Sen & troupe (Kathak), C. V. Chandrasekhar & troupe (Bharatanatyam), Rajashree Shirke & troupe (Kathak) and Sharada & Nandini Ganesan & troupe (Bharatanatyam).

Chitrangada
by Ranjana Gauhar & Troupe (Odissi)

Urjaa
by Sharada & Nandini Ganesan with troupe (Bharanatyam)
(approx. 120 mins)

Experimental Theatre

Friday, 13th – 6.30 pm

Chitrangada is timeless and as relevant today as it was when first visualised. Ranjana Gauhar has gathered her thoughts both from Chitra, the one-act play in English, and Chitrangada, the popular Bengali dance-drama, both written by Rabindranath Tagore and found that the true essence of a woman lies beyond her external beauty. A woman of substance believes in her independence and freedom of expression. Inspired by his vision and his sensitivity to portray the complete woman as one who personifies love, courage and substance, Odissi dancer Gauhar pays homage to the genius of Tagore through her presentation of his dance-drama Chitrangada recounting the tale of a Manipuri princess, who through her passion for Arjuna, the great warrior from the Mahabharata, came to realise that her true power and potential as a woman lay in her duty towards society.

The concept, script and direction by Ranjana Gauhar

Music composition by Saroj Mohanty

Urjaa is about that ‘divine energy’ that exists within each of us. It opens with the ‘Aananda Lahari’, paying an ode to shakti as the energy without whom Shiva (purusha) is incomplete and it is the combined energy of the two that keeps the cycle of existence going. It proceeds to the ‘Panchakshara Stotra’ wherein the five sacred syllables of ‘Na Ma Shi Va Ya’ represent the five elements of nature as nothing but the manifestation of Shiva in each of them. It is this very energy that is present in and around the universe and most importantly within each of us. But how often do we realise this inner truth? It is our journey to find this, light up this temple of our mind with knowledge and experience ananda which flows into a blissful tillana.

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