The ebbs and flows of life

Malavika Sarukkai. Pic/Shalini Jain

To think of things that have been said about water - and the ways in which it holds a mirror to life - we are reminded of Canadian author and essayist Margaret Atwood's words. In her novella, The Penelopiad, she describes water as a force that feels like a caress; it doesn't resist, and flows on. She reminds the reader that a patient stream of water can weather a stone. And so, being half water, if we "can't go through an obstacle," we must "go around it".

Will Apah, Malavika Sarukkai's celebration of rivers, rains and mythical retellings, leave audiences with a corresponding lesson in compassion? She responds, "I can discuss that after I perform the piece. I haven't performed this particular composition earlier and don't know how viewers would react to it. However, while dancing through the sequence, I can feel something happening." The Bharatanatyam dancer explains that water has been a thematic point in many of her choreographies. "In Apāh, some of these old movements will be presented alongside new ones." Stressing on sequence and its synthesised impact, she adds that a performative art form in succession, holds quite a different meaning as one choreography leads to the other.

Will Sarukkai dance a river for us? "The piece starts with two rivers - Ganga and Kaveri. The lyrics are different for both; Kaveri has more lyrics as compared to Ganga. There are influences of Krishna, Indra, Pichwai art and so much more." She elaborates the homage to water is not just restricted to the element's physical form. It toys with its spirit that's young, playful and energetic, and tries to retell the myth of Giri Govardhan from Srimad Bhagavatam.

Apah will also focus on sensuality and sringara, one of the nine rasas that means erotic love. And as we wait for rains to pour in this scorching heat, Sarukkai notes how rivers merging into the seas leave us with philosophical reflections. The legend can't, however, let go of the significance of sequence in her upcoming performance. "We begin with the tales of Ganga and think of a celestial river that brings relief to a particular terrain, and then, move on to Kaveri that has been described as the gait of a beautiful woman," she signs off.

From: June 4 to 5; 6.30 pm
At: Experimental Theatre, NCPA, Nariman Point
Log on to: in.bookmyshow.com
Cost: Rs 400 onwards