More shakti to Mumbai's art scene

Tonight Mumbairsquos theatre buffs will be treated to Ganapati one of the most popular acts by Pondicherrybased Adishakti Laboratory for Theatre Arts amp Research The site located on the outskirts of the Union Territory is home to a performing arts company that engages in creating acts researching genres and disciplines and conducting residency programs too With over 100 shows being performed since 1999 the production emerged from director Veenapani Chawlarsquos the veteran theatre artiste has conceptualised choreographed and directed the act research project on rhythm as a text in Koodiyattam traditional theatre performed in Kerala and contemporary theatreMembers of Adishakti rehearse at G5A a day ahead of their performance PicPradeep DhivarThe actldquoThe performance is an interpretation of birth stories related to the myths of Ganapati the elephant god from the Vedic cycle It tells the story of artisans who are building a sculpture of Ganapati It looks at Ganapati not as a god but a concept It teaches you to be accepting of othersrdquo shares Vinay Kumar a senior member of Adishakti and also a performer in the production ldquoMany things about Ganapati arouse interest For example Parvati created Ganapati singlehandedly without the involvement of man Shiva in his rage cut off the childrsquos head and replaced it with that of an elephantrdquo he adds in between rehearsals at the venueA scene from the performance that features Ganapatirsquos conversation with the artisan FILE PICThe six performers who are not professional drummers but actors have trained hard for the act The rhythms used in this piece have been evolved from Koodiyattam music and folk tunes from various parts of South Asia ldquoThey learnt drumming for over a year and a half for the performance It took about two years to put this production together The verbal text is minimal We needed actors because the production also requires expression and movementrdquo Kumar revealsThe venueGanapati will be performed at G5A a new venue for contemporary arts located in Laxmi Mills compound in Mahalaxmi ldquoA friend of ours from Mumbai recommended the new space Our production depends heavily on lighting so we thought the Black Box Theatre would work perfectly for usrdquo says Kumar The theatre wersquore told boasts of high quality acoustics and has hosted live performers like singer Hariharan before When we entered the space which opened in November 2015 we instantly liked the large windows that filled a bright cafeacute with light On a quick tour we were impressed with the terrace that houses multiple flowering plants and can be used as a venue for performances with the option of chaired seating or low seating with mattressesThe cafe at G5AAnuradha Parikh founder of the Anuradha Trust that runs G5A says ldquoThe project has been in the pipeline for fourfive years My mother started the Mohile Parikh Centre 26 years ago This was the preInternet period It helped accessing and understanding art in a way that wasnrsquot restricted attending an exhibition in a gallery We found that the audience base was also constantly changing Initially it comprised students of art and also connoisseurs through the NCPA where we were located and gradually we found general public getting interested A large part of the city that is not part of the art circuit should have access to these things We began working with NGOs and especially with children from disadvantaged communities We wanted to create our own space with less restriction and less formality We had this old warehouse and I thought being in this geography would help us reach a different mix of audiencerdquoThe terrace performance area where morning recitals are a regular feature PicsPradeep DhivarThe trust has also started communitybased initiatives One of them is the South Ward Carnival ldquoWe are looking at various communities in our neighbourhood including the Kolis the mill workers the transient population of the working professionals and the residential As a part of a mapping project we interviewed close to 70 stakeholders from different segments of society We did a physical mapping to have an impressionist idea of what the neighbourhood looks like A team of social workers prepared a questionnaire to understand their context their aspirations and issues One of the issues that came up was waste management We thought that this is something thatrsquos affecting people across the cityrdquo shares Parikh ldquoWe want to build a rapport with the neighbouring communities and bring them aboard to be partners so that they have a sense of ownershiprdquo she addsAnuradha Parikh G5AMaking the arts matterGanapati will be the first theatrical performance at the venue which has earlier hosted musical performances ldquoWe are not just a place for hire We want it to be a place where people feel differently We are still slow on our curating programmes We want to be careful resources are limited and we want to be able to sustain this kind of engagement The space allows you to transform it in any way you wish to Currently we donrsquot have fancy green rooms and other facilities that seasoned venues may offerrdquo Parikh tells us ldquoItrsquos a centre of contemporary arts We are looking at people who want to define the contemporary as well as the traditional and experiment with them meaningfuly We choose to refuse events that donrsquot fit in this process Mainstream genres like Bollywood have multiple options available to them They donrsquot need our support We are looking at the arts as a whole because we want to encourage interdisciplinary stuff and dialoguerdquo she concludes