#KThanksBye - Contemporary, original, effective.

#KThanksBye

Directed by: Abhishek Thapar  & Mozzaika

Artists: Tanvi Hegde, Aditi Venkateshwar, Maitreyee Joshi, Amruta Dhramkamble, Divesh Idnani, Abhishek Thapar, Salsa

If you, like me, are the average Punekar/Pune-ite, who wonders why we don’t have enough contemporary art shows and theatre activities, then you must read this!

Pune has held the reputation of being the creative and cultural capital of the state, but I keep wondering where are the performances? (And I mean beyond traditional shows and regional theatre) Other than the occasional big banner (big ticket) English plays that visit pune hardly witnesses original creative efforts. Well, as I just discovered, it’s right here, right now!

For long, I have been scanning “book my show”  to look for theatre/drama events  in Pune in English/Hindi - and I mean original content that is neither amateur not plagiarized. So this weekend, I was pleasantly surprised to stumble upon a series of new dance/drama events on the city’s landscape– Sanjog, Rajhansa,  Trayyantra, #kthanksbye, Simorgh, Nidravathwam, Songs of Love.. It didn’t take me long to uncover that these seemingly unrelated performances, belong to one family. Pune, in fact, is hosting “Prayatna Film and Dance festival” organized by Hrishikesh’s Centre for Contemporary Dance, Pune. (24-28 April 2015)

So finally, when I got myself tickets to one of the events #KThanksBye – (on Sunday evening, at Pt Jawaharlal Nehru auditorium) and travelled the length of the city to reach the venue, I only hoped that I would not be let down. Little did I know that my journey back home will be one with a number of thoughts and questions? And of course, beaming with pride that Pune rocks! J

Starting off with a creative security announcement, styled like aircrew, a motley bunch of dancers began to deliver what was a very thoughtful ensemble of contemporary dance acts, woven in monologues, interactive games and even a small skit.As they warn you, the content is adult, graphic but all you need is take a few deep breaths and think.

I am not an authority on contemporary dance, or dance in general, but it doesn’t take an expert to tell that this was a very professional effort, very well crafted and delivered with a lot of attention to detail. So instead of speaking much on the art itself, I will focus on the content, which was the backbone of the evening.. Kudos to the directors, (Abhishek Thapar & Mozzaika) who touched very relevant topics and wove them into the contemporary form on stage to deliver a message without being preachy, or authoritative. But instead ask questions, and leave the audience thinking:

• is naach the same as dance
• Does tradition hinder creativity, and that in turn hinders expression?   
• What are identities but traps created by societies, which while trying to judge us, retrict our boundaries of acceptance?
• And more..

-         In one sequence, you see clothes being flung at a woman who's covering herself in a sheet, perhaps out of shame as if being dumped in a pit of guilt that the society wants her to suffocate under. Watch her find her way out of the mess, like a river finds its way out to traverse its course, come what may. It is her body, it is her expression, it is her bra, if she wants to unhook it, it is her choice, her consent.

In another sequence, we see a child watch her parents engage in a violent exchange, only to be silenced, but her shadow falls on the couple and figuratively their shadows continue to fall on her. In a sequence preceded by a game of Chinese whispers, the performer, a trained kathak dancer, first respectfully ties her ghungroo, performs traditionally and slowly transforms into contemporary movements – to ask why a contrast exists – is it simply her ghungroo that limit her from doing something new? Or is it the boundaries we have set around what is traditionally acceptable for dance and dancer.

My favourite sequence remains the one where a woman trapped inside a cocoon like outfit, unfurls into a butterfly of sorts and mesmerises the audience with her grace. Abundantly beautiful and dancing like a dream, the performer is so gifted that you wonder why one would ever cocoon such talent and restrict her from flying.

I have tried unsuccessfully to attend this group’s previous activities a few times, and I can now confirm, that the loss was mine. I do think a festival like this is Pune’s answer to the questionable lack of originality and depth in content. It is a shame to imagine that we may have to wait another year to experience such brilliance, but from what I read on their website, it appears they have a number of shows other than the event that happen. 

In his closing remarks, the curator of the festival, Hrishikesh Pawar, said his objective was to look at how the group and his efforts are positioned in the field of dance, in the city and the state, in general. Going by what I saw, I think this is a very promising, talented and deserving group – which can easily reinstate the city’s  reputation as the cultural capital of the state. Only, the new culture, which respects the tradition, perfects the technique and finds a more unique, contemporary forms of 

expression!

Bravo!

PS: The festival is on for another two days. If you are in Pune, try and catch the acts on Monday and Tuesday.