(Anita
Ratnam. Pic by Robin Elam-Rye)
An enchanting yet evaluatory revisit to the
story of Rama and Sita. (Review by Verne Rowin Munsamy)
From South India to South Africa, A Million Sitas forms part of the 2018
JOMBA! Contemporary Dance Festival.
The epic love story of Rama and Sita is one
that most Hindus will recognise from the Ramayana.
A love story forged through time about a Prince and Princess banished to the
forests where the beautiful Sitas is kidnapped by the would-be evil King
Ravana. Rama then has to defeat his half -brother to claim back his wife, not
before she completes a chastity test.
A
Million Sitas, a dance piece choreographed and
danced by South Indian classical dancer Dr Anita Ratnam, is a classical dance
drama that borrows from this triumphant story of love, to question and seek
justice for some of the revered women in this tale of love, courage and war.
Well-known in Chennai as a cultural speaker, performer and mentor, Ratnam
extracts poignant moments to challenge our perceptions of female roles depicted
in the sacred text.
The performance takes on both a classical
Bharat Natyum flare fused with spoken word. The opening saw the Ratnam glide
across the stage in a pink Lehnga skirt resembling a floating lotus flower. The
expressive dance performance was faultless but what made this retelling of this
version of the epic tale more appealing were the visuals created through simple
costume changes and clever coatings of fabric. Three pieces of draped fabric
were used to stunning effect to represent the separated sides of Rama and
Ravana.
Each poignant female, whose justice in the
story was unsettled, was depicted with much elegance and sophistication. We
witnessed the birth of Sita (several versions), her timorous departure from the
world of the moon to be beside her victorious husband Rama, as well as
tangential segments of women like Manthra the bunch back, Alia the cursed
beauty and Parvathi the Princess made from a frog.
This beautiful rendition is accompanied by
live vocals by Saranya Krishnan with Mandla Matsha and Revash Dookhi on drums.
This was an enchanting yet evaluatory revisit to this story of Rama and Sita. -
Verne Rowin Munsamy
There
is one more performance tonight (August 31, 2018) at 19h30 at the Elizabeth Sneddon
Theatre. Tickets at the door.