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 Tales of Tagore - A story never told before - Dr. Usha RK e-mail: simplyushark@gmail.com Photos: Sejas Mistry April 16, 2025  From the canvas to the proscenium, telling tales that only can be an imagination, strong visual references to the art works of Gurudev and weaving movements with expressions from a classic form of Bharatanatyam is probably a first time ever. For one who understands a sense of starkness in the paintings of Tagore, it was a descending from the frame to the stage keeping the sensibilities and sensibilities of embarking on a Tagore project. What was capturing about the performance was the appropriate selection of poems and melodies keeping in mind the lyrical qualities of Rabindra Sangeet and exquisite rendering by Karthik Hebbar supported by Satish Krishnamurthy on rhythms and sarangi by Sangeet Mishra.  A group of young and talented dancers essayed the roles of the giggly pretty "I don't care" adolescents led by their Guru Vaibhav Arekar the sutradhar and story teller who used vachika abhinaya as a befitting tool creating and linking the little episodes in a seamless manner. Tobu mone rekho... And, still remember me, if I go far, far away, remember me. Even if the trappings of a new love shroud old ties of love and attachment, remember me. Mamo chitte niti nritye Who dances in the eternal dance of my heart? Tata thaythai, Tata thaythai, Tata thaythai. Paper boats Day by day I float my paper boats one by one down the running stream. In big black letters I write my name on them and the name of the village where I live. The expressions from the girls and their life changing moments moved gradually towards Tagore's experiences of loneliness related through abstractions that was portrayed with subtlety. Amongst all the compositions there were some popular ones like Ekla cholo re, from 'Fireflies' of Tagore - From the solemn gloom of the temple, children run out to sit in the dust, HE watches them play and forgets the priest. This was one of the stunning executions of the presentation. The drapes that dropped from above with the dancers as deities behind them enhanced by the lighting effects made for a hypnotizing visual.  'Group of Women', one of the most popular paintings by the Indian polymath Rabindranath Tagore depicts a group of women sitting together in a line facing away from the viewers while one of them looks back. His painting style was very individual, characterised by simple bold forms and a rhythmic quality, and later served to inspire many modern Indian artists. Tagore's portraits form only part of a bewildering cornucopia of imagery by Tagore, an "innocent universe". Human figures are depicted either as individuals with expressive gestures or in groups in theatrical settings. This particular painting merges with Dariye acho tumi amar ganer o pare - you stand there on the other shore of my song! My tunes touch your feet, but I can't touch you! Almost like the Neil Diamond popular, "You are the sun, I am the moon, you are the words I am the tune...play me!?  Vaibhav Arekar  Few have attempted to bring analogies to Tagore's paintings and this was certainly a very sublime yet splendid performance. Vaibhav Arekar and Sushant Jadhav together deserve kudos along with Vaibhav's disciples Pracheta Bhat, Eesha Pinglay, Swarada Bhave, Poorva Saraswat, Aditi Paranjape, Shruti Ranade, Devyani Samant, Christy Pillai, each of them adding to the onstage camaraderie and effectiveness of the entire production presented at Sindhu 2025 at Mumbai on 13th April 2025.  Dr. Usha Rk is an Arts Consultant and former Member Secretary, Ministry of Culture; former Director, Cultural Centre, Embassy of India in Moscow. Her conceptualisations of thematic dance presentations are appreciated and well received across India. |
