Drenched in Sufism

Mystifying Performance

In an evening dedicated to Sufism, noted Bharatanatyam dancer-choreographer Malavika Sarukkai presented her latest work Love, Longing and Transcendence.

Her recital, based on the poetry of Amir Khusro, was an exploration of love imagery. In the performance, conceived and conceptualised by Malavika, aesthetics of movement and design came together to weave a sensuous tapestry of love and longing.

The evening at the jam-packed Kamani Auditorium began with a talk by the renowned art historian Dr. B N Goswamy, who shared his observations through a presentation on Inward Journeys: Sufis as seen by the Indian Painter.

 Goswamy provided the audience with insights on Sufism and its mystic approach and vividly brought out how Indian painters belonging to Mughal, Deccani and Rajsthani schools have been able to convey the image of Sufism through their works.

Some of these paintings included venerable men in collective meditation; a devotee breaking into ecstatic dance or a prince approaching a faqir seeking guidance.

After the illuminating talk, Malavika took the stage to present her choreographed pieces based on the rich heritage of Sufism.

It was a double delight for the audience as she gave the presentation on recorded music composed by renowned classical musicians Shubha Mudgal and Aneesh Pradhan.

Malavika’s first performance, ‘Three Rivers’ was an artistic interpretation of Khusro’s poetry and included pieces like ‘River of Sorrow’ and the ‘River of Pleasure’ and ‘River of Release’.

This was followed by a presentation of Khusrao’s other works. Through a personalised language of dance, Malavika recreated the emptiness of longing and the ache of desire, calling to be fulfilled.

“This is a new theme. I have never done anything on Sufism. It was a challenge as well as a discovery for me. Bharatanatyam has various movements and gestures but for this production, I had to create new movements to express the idea,” Malavika shared with Metrolife.

For her, Sufism means discarding the worldly bond, seeking silence and surrender, which is also a part of spiritual search.

“Spiritual search can have different colours but it is about releasing oneself from worldly bonding,” she added. She conceptualised the idea of this production sometime in 2010 after listening to a couplet by Amir Khusrao rendered by Shubha Mudgal.

More and more corporates are now involved in promoting art and culture. This event too was organised by JK Paper and Harsh Pati Singhania, MD of the company said, “The idea behind having a show like this is to provide public at large an access to our great cultural finesse in the forms of dance, music and poetry.”