Revathy Ramachandran, (Director of the Kalakshetra Foundation), visited river Ganga at least seven times before penning down the script for Jagat Pavani Ganga, a dance-music-theatre production. Orgainsed by Kala Sadhanalaya, a city-based dance school run by her, Revathy conceptualised the production after having realised that merely talking about the need to preserve the river is not enough.
Interweaving bharatanatyam, Carnatic music, mime, theatre, Garhwali folk music and dance, the production was created with an aim to spread awareness to preserve the heritage and to protect the sacred river. “I had to have in-depth understanding of Ganga, her origin and her facets and the plight she’s going through now. The show was always meant to make the observer want to be on the banks of Ganga and experience her,” says Revathy.
Premiered in the city in 2016, the programme is being revived for two reasons, says Manasvini Ramachandran, Revathy’s daughter and also one of the performers. “The topic of conservation is still relevant and we feel there is a need to make people aware of the situation. Secondly, we are bringing back the show as part of AIM for Seva’s (a pan-Indian charitable trust) annual fundraiser to educate underprivileged children,” says Manasvini.
Addressing the issues of environmental degradation of rivers, the program is performed by a 12-member team and features music composed by Carnatic violinist and composer Lalgudi GJR Krishnan. Performed to the verses of Kalidasa’s Kumarasambhava and Valmiki’s Ramayana, the show lasting 90 minutes will also incorporate a shadow play as well as short interludes by a theatre artiste.
“The artiste will talk about certain attributes of the river that we have left out in the dance. He will talk about Ganga’s glory, what she stands for and most importantly, how people are blinded by greed and ignorance so much that they refuse to conserve Ganga for the future generation,” shares the 24-year-old.
Talking about the challenges of reviving the show, Manasvini says, “While the earlier version consisted 26 performers, this time we have just 12. The choreography has been edited and modified to suit a shorter team while keeping the script intact. We have made changes in the dance formations, edited the music and revised the whole choreography in a way that each performer is now playing multiple roles," she adds. The team will take the production to the US later this month.
`300 onwards. Today, 7pm at The Music Academy.