Easily the most engrossing dance performance that I have seen so far, 'Mahakali', conceived, choreographed and researched by Prof Anuradha Tadakamalla, stood out to me for its power, beauty and grace. I am an absolute amateur in matters of dance and can only go with what I see, hear and feel and this is what I felt. So moved and engrossed was I that I had to tear myself out of my chair when I had to leave.
Prof Anuradha invited me last time they had performed (in December if I am not mistaken) I could not go for some reason but this time I made up my mind to go and watch it in Ravindra Bharathi and am so glad I did.
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| Katyayani |
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| Anusha and Vaishnavi |
When I walked in, the show had just about begun and I could see Vaishnavi, Anusha and Katyayani on stage, followed by Praveen and Seenaiah, then Aparna and then Prof Anuradha herself. It was mesmerising and if I had not committed elsewhere would have loved to sit through the whole performance. Seenaiah was a revelation.
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| Praveen and Seenaiah |
I have taken some parts out of a pamphlet that describes the show to explain it some more. Here it is:
'Time, Kaala, in Vedic knowledge system is envisaged as a wheel, making it way through cycles of creation - Srushti (creation), Stuthi (sustenance) and Laya (destruction). This wheel is nourished endlessly by Shakti, the dynamic energy. This Shakti is Mahakali, the personification of space, time and death. This dynamic energy extends itself into the void, creating the universe with all forms of energy and matter, their structure from subatomic to intergalactic.
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| Aparna and Prof Anuradha |
When evil in the creation is so powerful that imbalance occurs, those who posses unquenchable greed for power, for lust, for wealth become too many. They bring the universe into a state of anarchy. Shakti along with a multiplicity of divine forces within and around her descends upon the battlefield, transforms into Mahakali, her tongue enveloping everything, drinking every drop of the asuras blood.
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| Anusha, Katyayani and Vaishnavi |
Along with Prof Anuradha, on stage were Katyayani Kanak, Vaishnavi, Anusha, Praveen, .Seenaiah, Aparna. Special mention to Shri DVS Sastry for music, lyrics, nattuvangam and jathis.
The show was presented by Kinnera Art Theatre on the even of Ugadi Puraskara Presentation.
If you ever get a chance to watch 'Mahakali' don't miss it. I'd pay to watch this anytime.
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