Floral by design

A previous performance of Drutam

In their first major stage production since the pandemic, danseuse Daksha Mashruwala and Anusree Bonnerjee along with their dance ensembles, Kaishiki Dance Academy and Drutam Dance Ideas Lab, will celebrate flowers through insightful stories. The project, that was scheduled for early 2020, and postponed to 2021, will finally be staged this weekend. "We felt that April was timely due to the onset of spring; it's symbolic of newness, birth and colour and it is also what our production, Petal Stories represents," says Bonnerjee.

A previous show by Kaishiki

The show will guide the audience into the inner world of five flowers with stories that define them. Through dance, poetry, and music, it will showcase the significance and personality of each flower. "Over the years, Daksha and I have collaborated across various aspects of life, not just dance, but how dance can be used for communication, as well as to introduce change to make it more fulfilling as an art form. This time, when we decided to collaborate, Daksha mentioned that she was keen to focus on the parijat flower. Scriptwriter Sudipta Dhruva developed a script around flowers," Bonnerjee explains.

Daksha Mashruwala and Anusree Bonnerjee rehearse for Petals

"We studied various aspects of flowers, including how fragrance was important to the Mother [Mirra Alfassa - founder of Auroville in Pondicherry] said that flowers speak only if you listen to them," she adds. The stories were sourced from Indian mythology and folklore, and inspired by the poetry of famous poets like Rabindranath Tagore and Khalil Gibran. The production includes stories about the parijat, hibiscus flower, an offering to Goddess Kali, the lotus, and daisies, among others. "The parijat is the only flower that we pick up from the ground and offer to the Gods. It's because it blooms at night and then falls to the ground before sunrise, so it is pure, but found on the ground. For this flower, we tell the story of a princess who falls in love with the Sun God, and how, when he leaves her, she burns down with anxiety; the parijat is created from those ashes," Bonnerjee tells us. Kaustuv Kanti Ganguli, a Hindustani classical singer trained by Pandit Ajoy Chakrabarty, has created the original music for the performance. Accompanied by Kolkata-based musicians, Ganguli's tracks complement Indian instruments like the sarod, sitar, flute and rudra veena with Western ones like the piano and cello. "Each story has a different interplay of music. Expect plenty of soundscapes and experiences," Bonnerjee signs off.

On: April 16, 7 pm
At: Swatantrya Veer Savarkar Auditorium, Dadar West
Log on to: tikkl.com/kaishiki-drutam
Cost: Rs 200 onwards