Malavika
Sarukkai - Thoughts
The choreography for ' Ganga - Nitya Vaahini - The Eternal
River' is distinct, strong and evocative extending the boundaries of
the Bharata Natyam repertoire. In the process I have engaged with the
very language of dance challenging myself to find new words which would
contain the depth of idea and emotion. In each of the four dance
compositions, I use different textures of soundscape, rhythm and dance
design. Intrinsic to this production is improvisation which runs as the
underground river in all choreographies.
The production ‘Ganga Nitya Vaahini – The Eternal
River’ celebrates water as a life principle. It journeys from the
geographical sangam (meeting) of the two great rivers Bhagirathi and
Alakananda in the high mountain ranges of the Himalayas at Devprayag.
The Ganga moves across the landscape of the subcontinent and finally
surrenders her identity of river to the ocean - reflecting a profound
philosophical truth. She is extolled in a poem by Tansen as the Goddess
originating from the sacred Trimurti of Brahma,Vishnu and Siva . The
Ganga also symbolises the river of Deep Time Mahakal - a witness to the
relentless cycle of birth and death, to the sacred and profane, to
purity and pollution.......... The poetry for this production is pan
Indian, drawn from various sources ranging from the 16th century to
contemporary lyric.