NCPA Pravaha-Shringara Bhakti 2.0 Usha Rk & troupe

Shringara Bhakti – 2.0

Rasas epitomized by Asaamanya Stree:

Conceptualised and Curated by: Dr. Usha Rk

A renowned arts consultant, Dr. Usha RK is a former Member Secretary of UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage, Ministry of Culture, Government of India, and the person behind the nominations that led to the inscription of the Indian city of Varanasi as a member of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network. She was also instrumental in bringing the discipline of yoga and the incredible congregations of the Varanasi and Jaipur Kumbh Melas into UNESCO’s Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage. She has previously held the post of Director, Jawaharlal Nehru Cultural Centre (Embassy of India, Moscow), and is trained in both Kuchipudi and Bharatanatyam.

Shringara is a key concept in Hindu aesthetics that represents love and beauty, especially in the context of devotion to deities. It is often depicted in art, literature and devotional music. Shringara is also known as rasa raja because it is considered the main rasa. Bhakti is an aspect of devotion and bhakti yoga is a spiritual practice where expressing love towards God is central. The relationship between shringara and bhakti is important in the arts, for the goal of the arts is to unite human and divine souls—atma and paramatma.

Shringara Bhakti – 2.0 is a presentation showcasing the four unparalleled women, Sita, Meera, Rati and Kamakhya, through their experiences of shringara and bhakti. Featuring Navia Natarajan as Kamakhya, Sayani Chakraborty as Meera, Soundarya Srivatsa as Sita and Arundhati Patwardhan as Rati, each of these four characters will express herself through multiple languages—Kamakhya in Assamese and Sanskrit, Meera in Avadhi and Hindi, Sita in Tamil and Kannada and Rati in Sanskrit and Marathi.