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From ancient times, Man has been considered a living manifestation of a greater, divine  Life force called 'God' who came to be addressed by different names across the world.

The Vedic tradition recognizes that the Matter, a creation of God, is composed from the primary elements - Wind, Water, Fire, Ether & Earth. An ancient Indian temple-ritual employing dance and music with Mantra-chants seeks the benevolence of these elements for the welfare of mankind. Heritage  presents this ritual along with use of multi-media supported by English narration.

People across the world are bound together in the eternal quests for harmony. The expressions may differ but the core of artistic Endeavour  remains the same. Harmony is celebrated through two pieces adapting the ancient Temple-dance style Vilasini Natyam to contemporary music by Prem Joshua. In his own words, Prem Joshua's work is "deeply rooted in the ancient Indian raga music and its fascinating rhythms - at the same time it is very contemporary as our musical spectrum includes elements of jazz, funk, lounge, chill-out and trance".

 
 

The Journey of Vilasini Natyam

 

 

Photo Courtesy: Shri Pran Neville

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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The sound of dancing bells, music and laughter had faded away more than 60 years ago from the simple homes nestling in the villages and towns of Southern and South Eastern India. The old faces across which a thousand expressions had fleeted in the decades past, now shied away at the mention of dancing and singing. These homes and faces belonged to the disenfranchised Temple-dancers and descendants of erstwhile Court and Zamindaris.  In this scenario, Swapnasundari and scholar-historian Dr. Arudra worked relentlessly to reclaim the entire corpus of Vilasini Natyam. The Scholar-dancer team traveled far and wide, persuading these ladies to teach their art, documenting their technique and repertoire. After careful correlation with ancient dance-treatises this dance-tradition was reinstated to its original format and was reborn as Vilasini Natyam. It is now performed on the concert-stage as well as in its original setting - the temple. Vilasini Natyam evokes wide appreciation for its grateful dance-technique, extensive repertoire and staggering variety of Abhinaya. The evolution of this dance-tradition is traced in the feature - "The journey of Vilasini Natyam".

 
     

One of the most popular figures of Hindi Mythology, Krishna symbolizes the eternal child, lover and philosopher. But little is known about his real mother Devaki beyond the commonly-known episode of her imprisonment by her brother Kamsa who was eventually slayed by Krishna.

The Blue God explores the thoughts and feelings that might have been experienced by Devaki during her long years of imprisonment.  It imagines the perspective of Krishna which may have been nurtured by devaki during this time. It voices Devaki's silent responses to what she might have learnt about her son who was growing up far away under the care of his foster mother, Yashoda.

The production The Blue God links the use of multimedia with various live dances to portray this unusual theme.

 

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