Expressions

Going beyondAnd so the figures in black linger, long after the event is over. Thoughts buried deep surfaced in the faces of five women in mo...

Going beyond

And so the figures in black linger, long after the event is over. Thoughts buried deep surfaced in the faces of five women in monologues written by Nisha daCunha and directed — as a reading — by her son, Rahul daCunha. The short story, "Set My Heart in Aspic", from her latest collection, deals with death as much as it does with life. No, I would not call it depressing, though many at the reading felt that way. A strange kind of bonding evokes hope; and a strong sense of place, of the ancestral home, makes you feel no one ever leaves … we just return to the place, as if for the first time.

The casual atmosphere at NCPA’s Chauraha is becoming more formal as the readings get slicker. This one even had "live" music. The space at the sunken garden was creatively utilised with seasoned actors like Rajit Kapur, Anahita Oberoi and Karla Singh going far beyond a "flat" reading. With Prithvi’s Theatre Positive heading in the same direction, simple readings are perhaps passe. But let’shope we can maintain the spirit of earlier Chauraha happenings where audiences commented openly. But silence has its own language, and that’s the way the reading ended, doing justice to Nisha daCunha’s story in which, towards the end, Alcina the youngest sisters, says: "Life has a way of going on. It really has a way of doing that. And in the strongest way, don’t you think? Doesn’t anyone want to say anything?"

Canada calls

Story continues below this ad

With Namaskar, choreographed by Chandralekha, and performed by 13 dancers of the Toronto Dance Theatre, Mumbaikars witnessed, once again, an inimitable style that infuses traditional martial art forms, such as Kalarippayattu, with contemporary energy. Chandralekha’s salutations to gods, to earth, to cosmos, were followed by a stark piece performed by dancer Laurence Lemieux, created by the artistic director of the company, Christopher House. The Toronto Dance Theatre is undoubtedly one of the leading contemporary dance ensembles in Canada with the goal of "engagingaudiences in an imaginative dialogue … hoping they will be provoked, moved, intrigued, disturbed, transported…"

I certainly experienced a range of emotions in a programme mix designed to ride on the waves of changing moods inspired by the music of Robert Moran, Claude Vivier and Johannes Brahms. It showcased an enormous talent that goes beyond defining modern dance in Canadian terms. The Canadian identity, threatened by its proximity to America, has sought, over the years, to find its "self". In my years spent with Canada’s artistic community, the question invariably was: Is there enough Canadian content?

Small matters

The foreign media’s response to our novels has been a topic of much debate since Arundhati Roy’s The God of Small Things won the Booker. There was much hype there, or so we heard. But for those present at the seminar on "Indo-German perspectives on contemporary Indian literature in English",Professor Bernd-Peter Lange’s talk was an eye-opener. "The German media’sinfluence is very powerful on the uninitiated," he said. The "great marketing effort" for Roy included appearances on all German TV stations. "The author’s beautiful face", together with the exotic locale of Kerala, found a place in student, news and fashion magazines, portraying her as "the confident, new women". Naturally, this did not go down well with some academics and writers here, who debate the literary merits of her book.

The last word

Said Ms Vulture to Ms Culture:
"Close encounters of the write kind"
is being organised at Prithvi.
Write a play, be "discovered"
by the powers that be.