Attend this immersive dance-theatre performance in Mumbai that explores poetry through diverse cultures

Previous performances of Bhakti. PICS COURTESY/@nritarutya; @sammyadams.films; @5anket

For Bengaluru-based choreographer and artistic director Mayuri Upadhya, the starting point of her production, Bhakti-A Shared Longing was a simple question. "Can we hold on deeply to our own truth while remaining open to someone else's?

The immersive 75-minute dance-theatre production by Nritarutya is premiering in Mumbai early next month. It brings together the poetry, philosophies, and life stories of 13 voices, including those of saints such as Purandara Dasa, Adi Shankaracharya, Lal Ded, Kabir, Meerabai, Soyarabai, Lalon Shah, Oppari, Bulleh Shah, and Amir Khusrow.

The search within

Upadhya says the idea emerged from a personal place. She began wondering whether it was possible to hold one's own beliefs firmly while still respecting another person's truth. "That question lingered, and it led me to the starting point of Bhakti," she says. Poetry became her way into that exploration.

One poet led her to another, and the poetry opened up histories, regions, languages, faiths and traditions. What emerged was an unexpected commonality. "They were all pointing towards one truth," she says, describing their shared invitation to move beyond labels and look instead for the deeper consciousness connecting people. For Upadhya, dance became the bridge between these ideas and the audience.

Thirteen voices, one conversation

Interestingly, bringing together 13 voices was never part of Upadhya's original plan. The production evolved organically as her research progressed. What she was certain about was her desire to choose compositions that had survived as "timeless anthems" in different parts of India.

She deliberately chose some of the best-known compositions associated with the poets, songs that have travelled across generations. Accessibility was important and she wanted the audience to encounter poetry they could recognise, feel and relate to. The research and planning took about a year, followed by around two months of choreography.

Philosophy to movement

Upadhya is not interested in putting the work into a box. "Bhakti is not a dance genre-specific," she says. "For me, it's an experience." Instead, the movement emerges from several layers: the composition itself, the philosophy of the poet, their personality, the message Upadhya wants to convey and the emotional moments in their lives.

Mayuri Upadhya

The philosophy and personality of the poet are considered. "A composition by Adi Shankaracharya demands something different from one associated with Meerabai," she explains. The choreography therefore shifts with each voice, drawing instinctively from classical, folk and contemporary movement vocabularies. The genre of the song, whether it's a bhajan or a qawwali, dictates a certain impulse of body movement. A Chaap Tilak, for example, will be very different from a Bhajagovindam."

Sound of devotion

Upadhya and her collaborators shaped the performance around the philosophy embedded in each composition. For Bhajagovindam, associated with Adi Shankaracharya and the philosophy of Advaita, the music is deliberately sparse, reflecting the idea of non-duality. In another composition by Sadasiva Brahmendra, where the lyrics speak of the omnipresence of the divine, the music repeatedly returns to a single musical thread.

The production also makes space for Oppari, a Tamil tradition of women improvising songs around death and grief. For Upadhya, its inclusion expands the emotional vocabulary of the production as devotion isn't only about ecstasy and surrender, but also about mortality, loss and the cycles of life.

"I would love for the audience to sit back and open their hearts," she says. For younger audiences especially, her hope is simple: "I hope they leave with wonder and carry peace. And I hope, ultimately, they have the courage to see themselves in another person."

Collaboration of effort

The musical journey involved collaborators including Chandana Bala Kalyan, Priyanka Barve, Harpreet Singh, Anjana Rajagopalan, Bindhumalini Narayanaswamy, Siddhartha Belmannu and Aashima Mahajan. Paavani Kashinath will be singing live during the performance while the others have contributed to the recorded score. Researcher Pooja Kaushik and Nandana Kumar also worked on the project.

ON September 3 and 4; 8 pm onwards
AT The Studio Theatre, Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre (NMACC), BKC.
ENTRY Rs 750 onwards.
CALL 35705570
LOG ON TO @mayuri30