Witness the celebration of divine femininity at this two-day event in Mumbai

Sanjukta Wagh

Today and tomorrow will see a collective effort to bring to life an interesting event called Goddess: A Celebration of the Divine Feminine, which is being presented by the National Centre for Performing Arts and curated by poet and writer Arundhathi Subramaniam. The first day of the event will witness discussions by writer Devdutt Pattanaik, poet and scholar Mani Rao and author Sampurna Chattarji, followed by kathak performances by Aditi Bhagwat, choreographed by acclaimed dancer Sanjukta Wagh and musical storytelling by filmmaker, theatre practitioner and singer Shilpa Mudbi Kothakota, and singer Adithya Kothakota.

The idea of the event is to highlight an array of roles that a woman plays in a lifetime in which she is completely devoted. It will be an occasion that will weave together a tapestry of Goddess poems from diverse lands and across the ages. It emerged from Subramaniam's deep-rooted fascination with the Goddess figure. "It [idea for the event] also emerged from my long-standing preoccupation with the female presence in sacred Indian poetry. I have been working for the past five years on an anthology on this subject. And it emerged, I guess, from the zeitgeist. Goddesses are in the air. Women's voices are emerging everywhere. Long-submerged narratives are rising. It feels like there is a distinct need for a more balanced, less exclusionary cultural and spiritual ethos," the curator explained, adding that when she informed Dr Suvarna Rao of the NCPA about the idea last year, Rao was more than happy to host it.

Annie Finch, Arundhathi Subramaniam and Shernaz Patel. Pic Courtesy/Val Schaff

The second day will also showcase an eclectic line-up. It will include a workshop by Anitha Santhanam called Weaving and Being Woven: An Embodied Exploration; discussions by American poet and performer Annie Finch; talks by Subramaniam with theatre actors Shernaz Patel and Anahita Uberoi; followed by performances from Hindustani vocalist Anol Chatterjee; and performers Manasi Parikh and Parthiv Gohil with their troupe.

Speaking about the process of carefully curating the events, Subramaniam shares that she wanted to keep it visceral, sensory and experiential. "The idea wasn't to merely talk about goddesses, but to partake of some of their magic. This is why it is such a mix. The scholarly, the performative, the discursive, the celebratory, and the exploratory - all in one seamless continuum," she shared. Another factor was to balance the canonical and non-canonical, the classical and the folk, the traditional and contemporary. "And of course, I wanted the right kind of artists in place - those who combine passion and precision, creativity and capability.

And voltage!"

The hope, as the curator puts it, is that after attending the sessions, people will return feeling more joyous and more replenished. "There is something about invoking Goddess figures that reminds people that we are heir to a much wider and deeper inheritance than we realise. I hope we will be able to drink a little of that shared groundwater," the poet-writer concludes.

On: Today and November 4; 4 pm and 3 pm respectively
At: Godrej Dance Theatre and Experimental Theatre, NCPA, Nariman Point.
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Cost: Rs 100 onwards