A virtual event presents an evening of dance and storytelling while shining a light on the nine rasas
Deepali Salil
What's common to a shaman’s prance, a Chhau performer’s chali or topka and the sprightly stepping in and out in Cheraw? Beat. Caused by stressed and unstressed syllables, the same beat leads all spoken word exploits. Movement renders language to stories. Abhinaya Katha, a virtual event, leans on this age-old syncretic ferment where dance meets narration. “Times have been tough. Our team likes to push the envelope of oral storytelling. Only a couple of months ago, we had curated a programme on music flowing into kathas. Abhinaya Katha was born of a similar passion for novelty,” says Hema Subramanian, co-founder, Mumbai Storytellers Society. “We have been left to innovate with and around our screens. And we must tell our tales differently to reach out to the right audience,” she adds.
Lavanya Prasad
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If dance is the story, rasas or emotions make it seem real. This event will focus on the nine rasas. Lavanya Prasad, an electrical engineer, turned to professional storytelling 10 years ago. She helms an organisation that connects with both children and adults through storytelling. She says her style of storytelling is intrinsically rooted in Bharatanatyam: “Be it music, rhythm, or expressions, I oscillate between the two fields. The forms are not held separately in water-tight compartments”. Ask her about her piece for the digital compilation, and she explains, “I will be depicting adbhuta [wonder] and bibhatsya [disgust]. Emotions are much like rainbows; we can’t really single them out. My performance might portray other rasas, but wonderment and disgust outline its intent.”
Prasad’s piece is an adaptation of an old story by Ambai (author C S Lakshmi) that voices the feelings of a young girl when her mother makes a loose remark on her skin colour. “Amma Oru Kolai Seidhal or A Murder By Amma is a subtle story that stresses on something so common yet crude,” she ends. The event will also involve performances by artistes Deepali Salil, Janani Murali and Mitali Raul.
On: November 27, 8 pm
Log on to: @mumbaistorytellerssociety
Cost: Rs 50
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