HYDERABAD: She is beautiful, she is strong, she is feminine. Ahalya was one of Brahma's exquisite creations, which he believed was a blend of all the ideal qualities of womanhood. Ironically it is also a male's perception of a woman and his quest for perfection. Ahalya's story portrays the light tension every woman goes through struggling and juggling between ideal and reality and desire and sacrifices. Presenting every aspect of her life in the form of a ballet, was sure a challenge, but was astonishing at the same time. Written and directed by Vasanth Kannabiran, a women rights activist and founder member of Asmita, “Ahalya”, a ballet in English was recently staged at Ravindra Bharati. The ballet was not just limited to mere re-telling the story of Ahalya by Rajeswari Sainath and troupe, but also portrayed the bereaved feminine personality of Ahalya, a woman with varied shades of conflict, pain, happiness, dreams and aspirations. The mother-daughter duo, Rajeswari-Vaishnavi Sainath who play the Sutradhar (narrator) and Ahalya respectively in the ballet, brought out every emotion on stage, which was intense and relatable by every woman present in the audience. “We connect like friends. Each of us has a different flavour in the way we perform. She could portray Ahalya, as she is young and feminine, which fit in the role,” says Rajeswari Sainath, a Bharatnatyam dancer. She also adds, “In any ballet, coordination is very important, no string can be let loose, as the intensity of the message might subside. I am happy that our purpose was not defeated.” And giving an Indian classical performance with a background narration in English is definitely a challenging task. Explaining the same, Rajeswari says, “Bharatanatyam being a traditional form of dance, and the narration being in English made the feat a difficult one.” The writer, Vasanth Kannabiran says, “Ahalya as a character has always fascinated me. I felt that through her story I could explore many of the questions that trouble a relationship.” She goes on, “Envy, anger, resentment and passion interleave every relationship. Sometimes deeply buried. Ahalya provides the scope to interrogate the violence in relationships that women confront on a daily basis.” When asked who her target audience was, she replies, “My target audience were both men and women who critically appreciate the questions Ahalya raises and responds.” And has she succeeded? “The overwhelming response to the performance means I have succeeded to some extent,” she says. Ahalya is personally her third ballet and Asmita's fifth. Drawing contrast to women of the present generation and the ones previous to this, she explains, “As for three generations, each generation faces its own characteristic problems. A classic retains its relevance. If you enter the story and look at the core questions it raises, they hold good for the young generation as well. The medium is the message. People can't enjoy the music or dance and reject the lyrics.”Adding a little of her personal belief into the story, she says, “My personal belief is in equality and my philosophy is feminist. That informs and inspires every line that I write.” On her choice of using Bharatanatyam as the medium for the portraying Ahalya, she explains, “I chose to stay with Bharatanatyam partly because it has to be opened up to contemporary themes and used to articulate modern questions. We need to shift the focus of traditional forms from devotion and romance to more critical questions Besides my equation with Rajeswari Sainath has been creative. She is a great dancer and open to innovative ideas. It is a productive partnership.” Adding to this, Rajeswari says, “Dance, though contemporary or cultural has to evolve. It is very educative. I love working on tough subjects and themes. Versatilities should go through different directions and help in motivating public.” She also adds, “I am surrendered to traditional art and I think it can become a major device of creating awareness. Like the Ahalya's character, which is something every woman can relate to.”
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