To look at a mukuti is to see a delicate ornament of gold and stone. But to look through it is to see the complex architecture of identity, status, and the systemic erasure of hereditary artists. Mukuti, a multidimensional showcase by the contemporary initiative Shastram, arriving in Chennai this week, is built on this profound premise. Rooted in the 1940s and inspired by creative non-fiction, this production dismantles the traditional stage-audience divide to explore how society grants and strips away human dignity through its protagonist, Meenakshi.
Ghirija Jayarraj, who adapted the work for the screen and stage, explains the central metaphor: “I chose the mukuti, because it carries both personal and symbolic power. I was drawn to how something so delicate could also carry the weight of how women are seen and how they come to see themselves.”
Besides, the nose-ring also holds deep symbolic value in Hindu tradition. It is tied to a bride’s identity, to femininity, and to sensuality.
For Ghirija, the project is a bridge to a past she never touched. “My grandmother was a Nair woman whom I never had the chance to meet,” she reveals. “In exploring Meenakshi, I felt that, in some way, I was being given the opportunity to meet my grandmother through art, imagination, and memory.”
Shruthi KP, who led the historical research, talks about the performance. “Mukuti tells the story of two women who come from a lineage of great standing, only to find themselves in a present that erases their past.Do they emerge from it? And how does that journey transform them?”
According to the artistes, like life itself, the narrative unfolds through multiple dimensions—visuals, theatre, dance, and music—coming together to create a layered, emotional experience.
This is not a traditional Bharatanatyam or Mohiniyattam recital. “You are not simply watching movement, you are entering the world, history, and people behind the form,” Ghirija notes. The collaboration features a team, including Poor Man Productions and Raging Bull Actors Studio, creating a “layered, emotional experience” of film and live theatre.
“This piece reflects a fallen era —a time when dances that were once spiritual in nature began to be viewed differently, even reduced to something more debauched,” says Shruthi.
Through the character of Meenakshi, the audience is forced to confront their own tendencies to rank worth. Yet, amidst the exploration of caste and class, there is a message of hope.
Ghirija concludes, “It speaks to the power of empathy, unexpected friendships, and the possibility of finding love, understanding, and solidarity in the most unlikely places.”
Mukuti asks us to look beyond labels, reminding us that, as Shruthi says, “Traditional dance, women, and the societies we build around them need both support and renewed ways of thinking.”
On May 3. 4.30 pm. At Alliance Francaise Madras, Nungambakkam.
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