We’ve been seeing teasers of this production for months now and our curiosity got the better of us. You can’t blame us as we just had to find out what Rukmini Vijayakumar and her Raadha Kalpa dance company had in store for us with this three-city tour of The Goddess that kicks off in Chennai, this Friday.
Rukmini Vijayakumar — well known as a dance choreographer, a bharatanatyam dancer and an actress — first shot into fame for her striking presence in many ad films including an Incredible India campaign that made her one of the most sought-after faces in India. She was then also seen in several films including the Tamil film Ananda Thandavam (2009), the Kannada film Bhajarangi (2013), the Rajinikanth-starrer live-action animated film Kochadaiyaan (2014), Mani Ratnam’s Kaatru Veliyidai (2017) and more recently in the Telugu super-hit Sita Ramam (2022). She is also the artistic director of Raadha Kalpa dance company and the director of LshVa, an art space in Bengaluru and is known for the Raadha Kalpa Method, a pedagogical system of training classical Indian and particularly Bharatanatyam dancers.
She studied bharatanatyam under Guru Narmada, Guru Padmini Rao and Guru Sundari Santhanam and practised karanas (coordinated action of the body, the hands and the feet) for several years under Guru Sundari Santhanam, a senior disciple of Guru Padma Subramanyam. Rukmini holds a BFA degree from the Boston Conservatory in ballet and modern dance and has studied acting at the New York Film Academy, Los Angeles while also training under famed theatre director and actor Prakash Belawadi.
Known for her unique take on dance and choreography and her ability to meld and use both contemporary and classical vocabulary in her pieces, she is also well-known in social media spaces these days, where many of her short choreography reels have gone viral and have hit millions of views, with viewers, followers and fans from across the globe. We, therefore, were only too excited to catch up with her on her ongoing Anubhava tour in the USA to find out more about what rasikas (fans) can look forward to at the upcoming performances of her latest production, The Goddess. Excerpts from the interview.
“The archetype of power, strength and victory in India is depicted by a female form. Kali, Devi and Durga are the forms of the goddess Parvati that represent strength and power. In most cultures, the representation of power is always held within a male form, but the goddesses in the Hindu pantheon carry the metaphor for courage amongst various other essential aspects of life. Knowledge and creation, wealth, nourishment and sustenance, strength, power, art, beauty, grace and kindness are all represented by the many goddesses. The production features three compositions that explore these various aspects of the goddesses,” begins Rukmini.
But we’re sure there’s more, as the danseuse always has a trick under her sleeve, especially when it comes to the ways in which she deals with oft-encountered themes. “What I’ve started doing these days is that even if the theme or subject of the choreography might be common, I look at different ways to deal with it. It could be a narrative ensemble a solo traditional margam (traditional sequence) or a solo contemporary. The last few productions I did were on Shiva, Tantra, Shiva-Parvati and similar related themes. I did Unrequited, which was a contemporary piece. Then, I did Ishwara which was also a margam piece on the same theme. I also revived my ensemble piece, Nayani, actually re-choreographed it and then I made a film on the same subject during the COVID-19 lockdowns called Srishti. But for the last two years, I’ve been looking more at the female entity and Devi. I did Namami Yoga Vidye and then I made Abducted which was basically on abuse and what society contributes to it. It all led to this, when I decided to work on an ensemble piece but in a non-narrative format. This is primarily based on the female entity, the female energy and how we perceive and see her in different ways,” she adds.
First up in The Goddess is a piece titled Sundari. The Indian goddesses are adorned with pearls, rubies and diamonds, bedecked in jewellery and draped in flowing silks. They have long hair that billows like clouds, beautiful voluptuous bodies, bangles around their delicate wrists and anklets that tinkle when they walk. The goddesses are seen as sensual, beautiful, graceful yet powerful.
“The Devi is the epitome of beauty and grace in Sundari. She’s described with flowing locks of hair and whole chapters are dedicated to her eyes, for example. But what does that beauty mean? How do we see it? We usually describe her beauty through ornamentation in most traditional pieces; but this time, we’ve decided to go minimalistic. We don’t wear much jewellery at all in this piece. It’s also abstract in the sense that it is performed just to a violin, a piece composed by Ambi Subramaniam. It’s like the energy is what we want to showcase as the ‘beauty’ here. I envision the audience being left with a sense of calm and peace after watching this piece. It’s a very quiet piece and in terms of vocabulary, I use a lot of karanas,” Rukmini avers.
Building on the grace and beauty of the first piece, the second piece Manonmani focuses on creation. The Devi as the creator. From thought comes creation. The creator and created are both Devi. They have no distance from one another and yet they seem separate from one another. Birds take flight, flowers bloom, rivers flow, mountains rise and life begins as Devi gracefully walks. The rhythm of the universe begins.
“Manonmani sees Devi like an architect. I thought of it more as a linear piece. The spatial construct is that of a grid with lines and the form is very bharatanatyam, without any karanas. It’s a very numerical piece, even musically. The music is composed by Anoor Vinod Shyam and Sunaad Anoor. It’s again a non-narrative piece and instead uses the ensemble as a whole, to represent her. I choreographed it envisioning her entering the space, opening it and creating it. It ends with an excerpt from a thillana that also speaks about her beauty but as a creator goddess. This is composed in the form of a thaniyavarthanam (a choreography characterised by rhythm repetition),” Rukmini elaborates.
Unlike what we expect from a Raadha Kalpa production, known for its intricate costumes, compositions and choreographies, the first two pieces are a new experience for any rasika. The third piece, however, brings us to a more familiar space. Maharajni focuses on power in a female form. In the modern world, this female power is often depicted without sensuality. A sensual woman in the contemporary world is always objectified. The Indian goddesses hold power while also being sensual and sexual. Kali possesses supreme beauty while simultaneously exuding strength and ferocity. Maharajni is the ruler of the universe. She instills fear while also being the kindest and most loving.
“Maharajni sees the Devi as the embodiment of power. She is portrayed as one who brings resolution, one who controls everything. She is the very personification of strength and crafted primarily around her avatar as Kali, so we’ve used the bhajan, Mata Kalika. This is the only part of the presentation where one will hear lyrics. The pieces have been sung by Raghuram Rajagopalan and might be accompanied by Keerthana Vaidyanathan if she’s available for that show. Raghuram also has recomposed it as it is a traditional bhajan and Ambi has helped with the music for it,” Rukmini further explains.
The whole presentation will see between seven and nine dancers from the ensemble perform depending on the sizes of the stages. “The fact that this tour of The Goddess coincided with Navaratri and the festive season is pure happenchance, but what’s also really exciting for me is that we’re using our personal bodies to represent the Devi and not the narrative, which is what we usually go to — you know — choreographing according to the lyrics being sung. The last piece will be the most traditional in terms of presentation and structure, simply because of the presence of the bhajan and even in terms of the attire we use for that piece. Our costumes will go from minimal in the first piece sans any jewellery to maximum in the last one, with everything one expects,” concludes Rukmini.
Next up, Rukmini returns to her Anubhava tour in the USA. She’s also taking Ishwara, The Goddess and Abducted across USA and Europe over the rest of this year and in 2024.
Chennai: INR 450 onwards. October 20, 7.30 pm. At Sir Mutha Venkatasubba Rao Concert Hall, Harrington Road, Chetpet.
Bengaluru: INR 500 onwards. November 10, 7.30 pm. At Chowdiah Memorial Hall, Vyalikaval.
Hyderabad: INR 500 onwards. December 17, 6 pm. At Shilpakala Vedika, Shilparamam, Madhapur.
Email: romal@newindianexpress.com
X: @elromal