By NIMMI RAGHUNATHAN
IRVINE, CA – It was relentless. From the moment the show ‘The colours of her heart’ opened, startling the audience with the anguished wails of a woman, to its conclusion some 70-odd minutes later, there was no let-up in the message it sought to convey. Conceptualized and directed by dancer Mallika Sarabhai -
IRVINE, CA – It was relentless. From the moment the show ‘The colours of her heart’ opened, startling the audience with the anguished wails of a woman, to its conclusion some 70-odd minutes later, there was no let-up in the message it sought to convey. Conceptualized and directed by dancer Mallika Sarabhai -
known for her fierce outspokenness – along with Yadavan Chandran, the production, staged at the Merage Jewish Center here on March 23, attacked every aspect that dogs and drags down the fate of women. With nary a breather, molestation, rape, conformity, compromise…each tool of suppression of a whole gender was addressed.
A group of five dancers through word, dance, enactment, poetry and music ensured there wasn’t a moment of complacency in the viewing audience. Switching easily between Hindi and English, pertinent questions were raised: why do girls weep alone at night? How does a woman reconcile the worlds of duty and freedom? Why do we first chain the woman and then worship her?
To be clear, it was not male bashing. Not bothering to name the perpetrators of crime, it focused on celebrating women whose very names signal suffering and strength: Priya Ramani, Gauri Lankesh, Laxmi Agarwal, Nirbhaya. In support of women stepping out of the shadows and speaking against the crime and criminal, a script line pointed out, “the fear is not mine, it’s his.”
The piece that jolted the most had to be the one where a single dancer emoted the helplessness of a woman finding a friendship souring into sexual objectification. The vulnerability of her moment was transmitted to the viewer in all its intensity.
The show also questioned a gamut of social traditions which determine how a woman should behave. Lavishing praise for not “wanting anything for herself,” or “always taking care of others,” being examples of attitudes which set them on the path to servility. ‘Colours’ urged, coaxed and demanded that the woman free herself from stereotypical behavior. Sarabhai’s treatment of the material was direct in approach, in fact the show lacked all subtlety. Words were thrown around as if the movements alone were not clear. Watching it, it seemed unpardonably uni-themed but after leaving the theater, the call for women to step into the light by finding strength from within continued to resonate.
The show was less about artistic merit than message oriented. Keeping that in perspective it seemed it was more urgent for the production to tour small town India in the fashion of street theater, than in the US.
Sarabhai who has lost none of her grace onstage, also showed generosity with her dancers never trying to steal the spotlight and giving them the freedom to emote. The lyrics and live singing was by Samia Malik, a Pakistani-British artist who was given equal billing. She was elegant and effective in the piece calling for parity between first born sons and daughters. The Irvine-based Ektaa Center brought the show to a full house in SoCal as part of its commitment to art, community involvement and education.
A group of five dancers through word, dance, enactment, poetry and music ensured there wasn’t a moment of complacency in the viewing audience. Switching easily between Hindi and English, pertinent questions were raised: why do girls weep alone at night? How does a woman reconcile the worlds of duty and freedom? Why do we first chain the woman and then worship her?
To be clear, it was not male bashing. Not bothering to name the perpetrators of crime, it focused on celebrating women whose very names signal suffering and strength: Priya Ramani, Gauri Lankesh, Laxmi Agarwal, Nirbhaya. In support of women stepping out of the shadows and speaking against the crime and criminal, a script line pointed out, “the fear is not mine, it’s his.”
The piece that jolted the most had to be the one where a single dancer emoted the helplessness of a woman finding a friendship souring into sexual objectification. The vulnerability of her moment was transmitted to the viewer in all its intensity.
The show also questioned a gamut of social traditions which determine how a woman should behave. Lavishing praise for not “wanting anything for herself,” or “always taking care of others,” being examples of attitudes which set them on the path to servility. ‘Colours’ urged, coaxed and demanded that the woman free herself from stereotypical behavior. Sarabhai’s treatment of the material was direct in approach, in fact the show lacked all subtlety. Words were thrown around as if the movements alone were not clear. Watching it, it seemed unpardonably uni-themed but after leaving the theater, the call for women to step into the light by finding strength from within continued to resonate.
The show was less about artistic merit than message oriented. Keeping that in perspective it seemed it was more urgent for the production to tour small town India in the fashion of street theater, than in the US.
Sarabhai who has lost none of her grace onstage, also showed generosity with her dancers never trying to steal the spotlight and giving them the freedom to emote. The lyrics and live singing was by Samia Malik, a Pakistani-British artist who was given equal billing. She was elegant and effective in the piece calling for parity between first born sons and daughters. The Irvine-based Ektaa Center brought the show to a full house in SoCal as part of its commitment to art, community involvement and education.