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

For Bengalurubased choreographer and artistic director Mayuri Upadhya the starting point of her production BhaktiA Shared Longing was a simple question ldquoCan we hold on deeply to our own truth while remaining open to someone elsersquosThe immersive 75minute dancetheatre production by Nritarutya is premiering in Mumbai early next monthIt 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 KhusrowThe search withinUpadhya says the idea emerged from a personal place She began wondering whether it was possible to hold onersquos own beliefs firmly while still respecting another personrsquos truth ldquoThat question lingered and it led me to the starting point of Bhaktirdquo she says Poetry became her way into that explorationOne poet led her to another and the poetry opened up histories regions languages faiths and traditions What emerged was an unexpected commonality ldquoThey were all pointing towards one truthrdquo 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 audienceThirteen voices one conversationInterestingly bringing together 13 voices was never part of Upadhyarsquos 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 ldquotimeless anthemsrdquo in different parts of IndiaShe deliberately chose some of the bestknown 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 choreographyPhilosophy to movementUpadhya is not interested in putting the work into a box ldquoBhakti is not a dance genrespecificrdquo she says ldquoFor me itrsquos an experiencerdquo 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 livesMayuri UpadhyaThe philosophy and personality of the poet are considered ldquoA composition by Adi Shankaracharya demands something different from one associated with Meerabairdquo she explains The choreography therefore shifts with each voice drawing instinctively from classical folk and contemporary movement vocabularies The genre of the song whether itrsquos a bhajan or a qawwali dictates a certain impulse of body movement A Chaap Tilak for example will be very different from a BhajagovindamrdquoSound of devotionUpadhya 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 nonduality In another composition by Sadasiva Brahmendra where the lyrics speak of the omnipresence of the divine the music repeatedly returns to a single musical threadThe 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 isnrsquot only about ecstasy and surrender but also about mortality loss and the cycles of lifeldquoI would love for the audience to sit back and open their heartsrdquo she says For younger audiences especially her hope is simple ldquoI hope they leave with wonder and carry peace And I hope ultimately they have the courage to see themselves in another personrdquoCollaboration of effortThe 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 projectON September 3 and 4 8 pm onwardsAT The Studio Theatre Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre NMACC BKCENTRY Rs 750 onwardsCALL 35705570LOG ON TO mayuri30