‘Mandala’ explored poetry through movement

Mandala had Chandana Bala Kalyan’s music and Amrita Lahiri’s dance in equal measure.
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Song and dance were inseparable in Mandala, which depicted the journey from seeking outside to finding within. Directed and choreographed by Leela Samson, and set to poetry by Kabir, Annamacharya, Meera Bai, Kshetrayya, Soyarabai and Kanakadasa, among others, Chandana Bala Kalyan’s music was an equal collaborator in Amrita Lahiri’s dance. The absence of percussion and the essence of minimalism, evident in the use of very little jewellery by the dancer and very few instruments by the musician,  allowed for emotions and poetic moments to be more sharply seen and felt.

Every piece presented at Mandala drew the audience into a circle of seeking to find — sometimes love, sometimes peace, sometimes rest. The initial pieces were rooted in an outward gaze that eventually turned inward. This movement through concentric circles was facilitated by both the dancer and the singer stepping gently into the space of the other and breaking conventional stage divisions. Commissioned last year for the Serendipity Arts Festival, Mandala was created through conversations across Mumbai and Chennai.

Amrita Lahiri, disciple of senior Bhartanatyam dancer Leela Samson.

“Mandala was unlike anything I have worked on before,” says Amrita. When the work was commissioned last July by the curator Mayuri Upadhya, the theme suggested to Amrita and Chandana was the work of saint poets. “Chandana has been working on some of these poems as a singer for many years, and so she could share some ideas. I asked my guru Leela akka to help too. She was involved in the selection of poems — which itself took a very long time, because you need to have the correct flow and themes,” Amrita adds.  After selecting the poems, they dwelt on them for long before beginning choreography.

Maya, the main theme

Maya or illusion emerged as a predominant theme in the poetry, but finding it unsuitable, because it was too heavy for a whole evening’s show they tried to approach it from the outside and move inwards. And, that was how they journeyed from “sringara and viraha to maya and aikya (the state of oneness with the divine) – which, many poets and philosophers have seen as a solution to this illusionary world.

Speaking about the process of selecting the poetry, Leela Samson says the focus was on finding compositions that would be “appropriate, beautiful and challenging” to each of them. “The decision to not include percussive instruments was deliberate,” she adds. She did not find it particularly difficult to work with Kuchipudi because of her love for all dance forms. “It is only the method of using hastas and body movements that differentiates the forms,” she says.

Chandana’s music played a pivotal role in how Mandala was received. It seemed like Chandana’s musical practice seamlessly joined course with the making of Mandala. “The ragas were chosen keeping in mind the emotion and its intensity within each piece,” says Chandana. The light-hearted sringara pieces saw the use of ragas such as  Yaman and Shyam Kalyan, while in the case of viraha, ragas such as  Varali and Chenjuruti were explored. The mystery of maya found embodiment in Chandana’s composition of Kanakadasa’s poem on the subject through the use of the rare raga – Gopriya. 

Commenting on what she found exciting in the creative process, Chandana says, “For me the biggest triumph was to be able to hold this without instrumental backing. Singing for dance is considered very repetitive, speaking from the musician’s perspective. The dancer is doing various movements, narrating sancharis and stories; there are different characters coming and going but for the vocalist, it is the same line being sung many times over. So for me, it was very important to not bring that monotony in my singing.” 

Towards this end, she chooses to improvise on stage each time – modulate or use her voice creatively. “Sonically also to create the dynamics was very exciting – singing softly, humming and then using fuller volume – all helps me expand into the emotion in the dance,” she adds.

Mandala didn’t just present two artistes singing and dancing in a unified voice, it also constantly drew the audience into its explorations and celebrations.