Review - My World of Words

My World of Words
- Chitra Mahesh
e-mail: chithoo@gmail.com
Photos: Lalitha Venkat

December 19, 2019

'The time that my journey takes is long and the way of it long! I came out on the chariot of the first gleam of light and pursued my voyage through the wilderness of worlds, leaving my track on many a star and planet. It is the most distant course that comes nearest to Thyself and that training is the most intricate, which leads to the utter simplicity of a tune. The traveler has to knock at every alien door to come to his own and one has to wander through all the outer worlds to reach the innermost shrine at the end...'
- Rabindranath Tagore from The Gitanjali

The reason I quote this is that here is an artist, who symbolizes a lot of the emotions of these few lines. What is more, she brought back thoughts about the poet through one of the pieces done for that day. She chose to bring an instance in the life of the poet against the contrast of another culture - that of Rabindra Sangeet and Carnatic music in a fusion that was elevating, grounded and firmly rooted to Mother Earth. The rough, passionate tones of Bengali were countered by the sweet, sedate gamaka laden style of the south and she herself moved to the music. This can be achieved only if the artiste/presenter puts much thought to it.

This was one of the moments at Uni-Verse, a Performance Talk and Presentation by Dr. Anita Ratnam at the British Council, as part of Kartik Fine Arts's Natya Darshan 2019. To the gathering, there were several such moments that struck chords.The poetry varied and styles and languages adapting to running thoughts and associations. Which is what Anita does so well. Every production of hers will have something where you can find something to think about. Or overlay it with your own personal experience, bringing to the fore memories and associations. And in this case, poetry transcended time and genres - a Waqt ne kiya, a Pettai Rap or a narration of verse of Koleka Putuma from South Africa. It felt like being on a ship that swayed its way through several ports of timelessness and nostalgia. As bright as the stars that shine lost for a while, but never quite forgotten.

Putting it together along with the musical bard of Chennai, Vedanth Bharadwaj, she also engaged with a young dancer and vocalist, Archana Raja to bring a freshness to words, sound and movement. Confidently articulating the language of Tamil was Subashri Ravi, whose reading of some verses was rather powerful.

The best part of the evening was that it was simply but evocatively told - about the potential of poetry by feeling its power through one's own voice. You can pick and choose what keeps you within a state of potential - of untold stories, unsaid feelings and finding that light at the end of the tunnel!

Chitra Mahesh is a senior journalist based in Chennai.