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 Anubandh-Connectedness: A response to the performance - Hema Iyer Ramani e-mail: iyerwrites@gmail.com Photos: R Prasana Venkatesh February 18, 2023 A young learner learns his alphabet and begins the first attempt at writing through the four-lined copy-writing book. Yes, copy-writing, where a student copies to perfection what the teacher has taught. Copy-writing extends itself to classes beyond alphabet and I would use the term for artistes too. I have also noticed that teachers feel heartened to watch the performances of the students who have aced their classes, and they get to see younger versions of themselves even as they get older. I guess it gives teachers a sense of timelessness where they are able to revel in the past even as they are in the present. But while they continue to progress from four-lined to two-lined and even a single-lined page as they progress, very few artistes actually dare to progress to the unruled page. An unruled page does not mean writing goes haywire: on the contrary, it means that the artiste who has become an expert and learnt the art has understood the importance of line, of form (if it is drawing), and performs with the unseen lines. It is a completely spiritual process of moving from idol worship, where you have form and move into abstraction, but having form as the underlying "given". Malavika, I found, moved beyond the personal space of restraint to a certain spiritual abandonment in that evening's performance.  Malavika Sarukkai's performance of ANUBANDH-CONNECTEDNESS on January 8th at the Music Academy was just that. It was a spiritual experience, a sacred space that moved beyond words. Yes, there was music, there were mantras, there were chants, there were poetic phrases, but there were poetic pauses and artistic punctuations that added to the whole effect. Most people have their favourite author, a favourite subject, a favourite artiste. I belong to the category of people where I like what touches me, what speaks to me and what is constantly evolving. Predictability for me symbolizes stagnation of sorts. It however should not be confused with the notion that anything in the name of being "new" is going to be lapped up. No, far from it. The Ambalapuzha payasam must be tasted and savoured to understand what has gone into its making. Which means that classicism can never lose its charm and will always hold a place. And yet, when one tries to explore, one should maintain the form, flow, grandeur without losing the purpose. Therein lies the success of the artiste. Each author / artiste works towards their magnum opus. When we read books, we do not compare the writing of one author with another. Yet, we may prefer one book over another and that is how each creator creates their own masterpiece. To some creators, each work may be worth a masterpiece, but the truth lies somewhere in-between perhaps. When the two arcs, the artiste and the rasika, intersect and the level of understanding is the same, I would like to think the masterpiece has been created. To me, that evening's performance was Malavika's masterpiece, just until she creates a new title. As I walked into the hall, the poster of her cupping her face caught my attention.  She spoke of the pandemic times, of sorrow, of grief, of loneliness, of confinement, of angst, of hopelessness, of helplessness. She spoke of the five elements - Fire, Earth, Water, Air and Space. There was interweaving of light, dance, poetry, music, soundscape and one could not remove one from the other. There was a beautiful melding of the different elements of the production - five individual components united together in a fist. Anubandh was the response to the world, where she used the panchabhootas to express herself. I found resonance with the work and each one of us react to elements and subjects from our own personal understanding. The outer elements often converse with our inner elements and it should be in our nature to respond to the Nature around us. For someone who wakes up to the Aditya hrudayam, it was an inside- outside moment to relive the experience in a different context. As Soorya reined in his seven horses that signify time, I also felt the dancer moving out of the reins that would restrain and set pace for timelessness instead. The tone was set, my mood aligned as I watched the dancer emerging from darkness and Soorya granting light...light that signified to me time, travel, knowledge, life itself. The ethereal lighting that merged with the lyrics, soundscape, dance at every point was beautiful. It was as if the elements did not vie for personal attention, the dancer had given them their space and were tied together in her fist and there never seemed a need to see the clenched fists! The spoken word and the written word moves me the most and I was naturally a tad more moved by the poems and how she essayed the words into movement. It was as if words took flight in the moment with her movement. As she highlighted each element, we sailed through space, through waters, through fire, through cleansing, through sacrifice - it was a journey where each viewer brought her/his own experience to make it their personalized journey. To me, rains always meant that clouds were in harmony with my inner grief and when rain washed my face, it also hid my tears and washed my grief, where I personally experience my elements within and outside of me. Like my book, where I spoke of conversations with travels, I often found myself travelling alongside and in this performance too, I found myself travelling alongside dancer, writing my own journey, even as I understood hers. I shall carry the memory of the beams of light from every wing to create walls, and it was this walled-in feeling that one experienced during the pandemic. It tore at my heart and as the curtain dropped, I was left with the image of the dancer cupping her hands to her face and that memory shall be frozen in my memory just as the performance was.  Hema Iyer Ramani is a writer and essayist focusing on travel, culture, art and leisure. She is the author of Soulscapes: Travel and Conversations in India, a nuanced exploration of the physical, emotional and spiritual connections between people and places. A multi-faceted talent, Hema also works alongside her artist-husband V.V. Ramani, collaborating on set and costume design for dance performances, events and weddings. |
