VitthāMāi

Vitthala, My Mother

An immersive digital work that explores the gamut of emotions, from anguish to ecstasy, in the oppressed voices of Varkari saints of Maharashtra, whilst negotiating the gender-normative identity of the ‘male’ deity Vitthala.

This choreographic masterpiece, sits at the edge of the boundaries of Bharatnatyam while incorporating regional folk influences of Dindi and Kala. An animated illustrations prologue by Upasana Govindarajan contextualizes this work for the uninitiated.

Hlādini

Radha, The Primordial

Hlādini is an exploration of love, separation and ultimate union, imagined through the colours of the visible spectrum. Radiant and elemental, Radha embodies the kinetic red-orange-yellow zones, while Krishna inhabits the opposite end of the spectrum. Their prema, transcendental love, draws them together, yet viraha, the anguish of separation, makes their union elusive. As they move through longing, anger, tenderness and surrender, the boundaries between them begin to dissolve.

In the mystical green of Brindavan, Radha and Krishna exchange clothes, ornaments and identities, revealing a deeper truth: Krishna is Radha, Radha is Krishna. Distinct colours, born from one indivisible light.

Pari-Ikshate

King Parīkṣit, the last survivor of the Kuru dynasty, cursed by the serpent Takshak faces an untimely death foretold to arrive in seven days. Rather than resist his fate, Parīkṣit renounces his kingdom and sits by the Ganges in discourse with Sage Shuka. As the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam unfolds before him, he journeys through the nine rasas (archetypal emotional states) encountering love, wonder, laughter, compassion, fury, courage, fear, disgust and tranquillity.

What begins as a story of impending death becomes an inward journey through the full spectrum of human experience, towards acceptance, surrender and eventually liberation.