An upcoming dance production of Kalakshetra Foundation pays tribute to two great visionaries of the nation, ‘One who spun the thread for our Independence; the other who wove the thread for the cultural renaissance’ - Mahatma Gandhi and Rukmini Devi Arundale. The production is to mark the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, at the behest of the Ministry of Culture, Government of India, celebrating a series of activities under the umbrella of Gandhi Parv, the Kalakshetra Foundation is premiering a production titled ‘Shanthi Sutra’.
Paving the path for removing ‘Avidhya’ and creating ‘Sahridaya’, Gandhiji’s idea of spinning for liberation manifested in the recreation of handlooms. His idea of ‘Naithalim’ (basic education for all) is reflected in the skilled training of fine arts and Montessori training in Kalakshetra.
The faculty members have put in their hard work into three pieces of choreography. The traditional ‘Pinnal Kolattam’ is used to link the various tape histories of the event, Krishna Kumar of Little Theatre doing the theatre portion. It is also used as a connecting thread between various aspects of the production. Songs used are from different languages and the overall spirit of Mahatma Gandhi’s movement and Rukmini Devi Arundale’s life being quoted.
“Rukmini Devi’s service to the environment is obvious, converting sandy barren lands into a heaven of trees and plants,” shares the director of Kalakhhetra, Revathi Ramachandran. “Mahatma Gandhi believed strongly in the principle of ‘Ahimsa’ and found its compassionate arbitrator in Smt. Rukmini Devi Arundale who got the ‘Prevention of cruelty towards Animals’ bill passed in Parliament. The attitude of ‘Sarva Dharma Samanvaya’ was followed by both these visionaries, that path followed by different religion lead to the same goal,” she adds.
Nineteen dancers and 7 musicians are performing on the show on Monday 6 p.m. at Rukmini Arangham, to music composed by Sai Sankar, professor (Music) of Rukmini Devi College of Fine Arts, a unit of Kalakshetra Foundation. Gandhiji and Rukmini Devi - both ‘Karma Yogis’ who worked for the cause of development of the nation will be in focus — one for the freedom of the nation and the other for resurrecting the decaying art form of Bharatanatyam and other traditional crafts so as to provide independent India a true spirit of the nation.
