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 Khidki Se... Seasons from my window - Vaishak Raj e-mail: vaishakraj.tvm@gmail.com Photo courtesy: Drishtikon June 9, 2021 The visuals, thoughts, and feelings from the windows that has kept us thinking, reflecting, and awaiting the times that has gone by and the ones that are upcoming. Time has become the greatest teacher, the nurturer and the annihilator. Seasons have gone by, and the cycle never ceases. But these moments, these colours, these memories, these visuals, and these echoes take life through the landscape of dance as I watch these narrations by the artists at Aditi Mangaldas Dance Company-Drishtikon Dance Foundation. A peek through the surreal images of life that connects us and nature from the window of the vast mysterious spectrum of time. These conversations and narrations from one window to another are setting a cycle of life told through movements and imageries. Starting from Sharad and ending in Varsha, the dance narrations take us on an exploration filled with inner reflections and realisations.  Sharad | Choreographer: Diksha Tripathi Diksha managed to open the narration with the echoes long forgotten that broke the stillness of the uncertainty surrounding me. The colours, the shades, the rays as well as the cracks and crevices between the bricks set an ever-evolving myriad of images and thoughts in one's imagination immersing in the ecstasy of Sharad.The patter of water that came to life with her footwork rejuvenated the gratitude to the little joys in life we failed to acknowledge. The images that moved from different angles and movements somehow managed to capture the wonders and joys she felt in being present in the moment with her dance. Hemant |Choreographer: Gaurav Bhatti The rapid chakkars to an uncertainty filled with mixed emotions, as Gaurav opens up to unravel the feeling of Hemant that reminds us of 'time' being the annihilator. The courage in him to speak through his dance posed with questions, stillness and the vague visuals. He yearns to forget these images as it ceases to exist leaving the crumbs and faded colours of leaves that surrounds the echoes of his footwork. A deep sense of acceptance and realisations engulf his narrations as he watches this season unfolding the truth that he wished he never knew. Shishir |Choreographer: Minhaz Khan Minhaz reminds us of the beauty that surrounds in the winter moonlight that speaks through its glow and shadows showing us there is hope awaiting amidst the frozen stillness of life. A subtle conversation between him and the winter moon, as innocent as it may, will take us back to a childhood memory of stories once forgotten. A glow that seems never to fade nurtures Minhaz's work that reveals storytelling is done at its best when simplicity engulfs it. Vasant |Choreographer: Sunny Shishodia The wait that goes through its stages of feelings and emotions. Sunny seeks and awaits the moment that gives him hope, sometimes turmoil his thoughts or perhaps even shed tear clad in the illusions and lustrous beauty of Vasant. A strong command over his movement vocabulary wraps up exploring the image of 'awaiting' that seems to be hidden in the colours and fragrances of the season. Grishma |Choreographer: Manoj Sonagra A powerful conversationalist that recognises the smallest things in life, Manoj seems to evoke a conversation to the unspoken. His sense of observation and conceptual lens through which he sees the spaces around him leaves him parched, submissive and eternally grateful to the Sun that guards us all. Varsha | Musicians: Ashish Gangani, Faraz Ahmed & Mohit Gangani This work not only reminds us of the echoes, the reverberations and melody that connects the human soul to the vast universe but also reveals the joy and ecstasy of the moment that has now turned into a memory. The unseen, the unheard and the unspoken energy to which these musicians through their renditions would evoke the senses in us to see the hidden beauty of the world that unfolds in its magnanimity.  Vaishak Raj is a creative choreographer, entrepreneur, producer and writer settled in Delhi. He has done his training in Kathakali, Mayurbhanj Chhau, contemporary dance forms, Kalaripayattu and yoga practices. He has been conferred with several full scholarships in the field of dance and creative writing to pursue his advanced training. |
