Geeta Chandran is synonymous with Bharatanatyam, beginning her journey at the age of five. Since then, her dance voyage has embraced intense learning under several stalwarts. Yet, Geeta has imprinted Bharatanatyam with her own unique personality; her vast knowledge and training in Carnatic music further imbue her dance with a unique flavor.
Geeta is the founder and president of Natya Vriksha, a cultural organization she founded in 1991. A widely feted artist and star performer, she uses her deep skills in Bharatanatyam as a‘ force multiplier’ for the widest range of classical dance issues that have engaged her focus: exploring linkages between body and mind; forging relationships between solo dancing, group dancing, and choreography; actualizing the connections between the artist and society; and using dance as a medium for expressing abstract notions of joy, beauty, values, aspirations, mythology, and spirituality.
Ahead of her performance, Samagati, in the city, we indulge in a conversation with the danseuse.
Excerpts:
With its origins in the Rig Veda, the word Samagati is a Sanskrit compound consisting of the terms sama and gati. The term has multiple meanings and connotations—coming together, union, and progressing together. In many ways, Samagati is both a vision statement and a mission statement for how our Natya Vriksha Dance Collective works. Every concept and every movement are intensely contested by every member of the group. Thus, the choreography that evolves is intimately shared by all. Samagati stirs intellectual thinking as it re-investigates what the Purusharthas could mean today: What do we mean when we refer to Dharma, Artha, Kaama, and Moksha?
Samagati opens with a Nritya Stuti that pays tribute to Shiva, seen as the culmination of the five elements of creation. Our modern interpretation of Dharma should be to pay attention to the environment and prevent catastrophic climatic changes from destroying life.
Artha or ‘Hard Work ’ and its ‘Fruits’ is essayed through the abstract dance of a Jatiswaram, where the intense choreography movements portray diligence, labor, and creativity.
The value of Kaama is interpreted through a composition of Muthuswami Dikshithar that praises Maaye, who removes the curtain of ignorance from our eyes. Adding her choreographic element, we have interpreted Kaama as a plea to free ourselves of the tentacles of illusion.
Moksha is interpreted as a celebration where God and humankind enter a cosmic dance to realize the ultimate truth and seek release from the bonds of Dharma, Artha, and Kama.
I shudder at the word "message.”. Dance can never be prescriptive, nor should it become propaganda. It’s purely experiential. And if through that experience, one is led to think anew, then that is fine.
Bharatanatyam has remained exciting for over nine decades since its rebirth in the early decades of the last century. Generations of gurus, dancers, scholars, critics, and organizers have kept it a flourishing and dynamic dance form. The dance grew in two ways; the lake of Bharatanatyam was dug deeper into tradition, even while some artists chipped away at its borders to recast the contours of that lake. Both actions were equally important and added to the gravitas of the dance form. Continuity and change are inevitable as tradition meanders. It would be wrong to view tradition as unchanging and cast in stone.
Tickets start at INR 800 (available at the venue). January 8, 7.45 pm to 9.15 pm. At TT Krishnamachari Auditorium, The Music Academy, TTK Road
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