<div>Let me hear your voice again, the time for song has returned,” crooned Sandra Pasini on a nascent summer evening in Bengaluru.<br /><br /> As the musician from Italy, guitar in hand, expressed herself in her mother tongue, the audience seamlessly connected to her emotion in timeless transit merging space, people and continents. “It’s my first time in India and I feel the strong spirituality, which combines different feminine energies converged here, yet holding their own,” expressed Sandra. <br /><br />Days after the conclusion of the Tantidhatri fest, sitting in the serene heart of Ranga Shankara, there is a yearning to hear Sandra’s soulful voice yet again and revisit those terrains that powerful women artistes and speakers — Sin Cha Hong, Gilla Cremer, Anandavalli, Narelle Benjamin, Julia Varley, Parvathy Baul, Tina Milo, Dijana Milosevic, Revathy, Geddy Aniksdal, Helen Jamieson, Arundathi Nag, Khushi Kabir, Shabnam Virmani, Vandana Shiva, A Revathi, Dimple Shah, Kamla Bhasin, Carolina Pizzaro and Pelva Naik — from across the globe took the audience to, recently.<br /><br />What brought them to India was Parvathy’s endeavour to create a platform for women performers from across the globe and open dialogues on the feminine. “I chose Bengaluru only because of Arundathi Nag and what she has made of RangaShankara. She, a woman who lost her husband at the age of 34, stood on her own to give people this beautiful performance space,” concedes the Baul par excellence, her sparkling eyes welling with tears.<br /><br />Parvathy’s heart drives her choices. “I had met all the women who are in Bengaluru to perform at different festivals and connected with them on a personal level. Now that they are here, I can only give them my tears of gratefulness and love for their constant dedication, trust and faith in me, each artiste, each speaker, giving off her best,” she adds.<br /><br />Tantidhatri, the derivative of the Pali words ‘tanti’, meaning ‘that thread which goes beyond time’ and ‘dhatri’, translating ‘the woman who holds it’, made its presence in India first in the year 2012 in Pondicherry.<br /><br />“Last time,” points out Julia, who is in India to perform again, “Parvathy was surrounded by protective men. This time around, she has stood on her own, which is in sync with what we want to do.” Julia, a formidable senior theatre artiste who showcased precision and emotion without revealing her face once throughout her rendition of the world-acclaimed play Ave Maria, is among the founders of the Magdalena Project, which was established in 1986 as a network of women in contemporary theatre. In fact, many of the senior and seasoned artistes who performed at Tantidhatri 2016 are connected with Magdalena and its Transit theatre festival, which is an annual affair in Denmark.<br /><br />Role reversal<br /><br />Geddy, a member of Magdalena from Norway, who portrayed 7 Songs of a Refugee with impeccable precision here, talks of why she chose to play the role of a man: “I think I have a masculine side. I grew up in a working class family, with my father and brothers toiling in the industry. They are both deep individuals and my role in theatre resembles their work,” says the lady, who, through her portrayal of the masculine, uplifted the power of the feminine to be able to mask all emotional, geographical and physical boundaries in testimony of her years of experience.<br /><br />“For feminism to grow, it is important for us, older performers, to reach out to the men as well. If by the work I am doing I can be of help, I am happy,” smiles Geddy, the meticulous, serious exponent of theatre. Another heart-wrenching rendition about a woman with a mental disability who takes her children to the seaside and commits a drastic crime to save them from imminent poverty, by seasoned artiste Gilla, impressed the audiences. <br /><br />“Back in the 80s, when I was with a theatre group, I got pregnant and my co-artistes wondered whether I would be able to give my best. So I decided to go solo and chose themes like IVF, what happens on the other side of a concentration camp, and Sea Side, which premiered at Hamburg’s leading English theatre, Thalia,” says Gilla, who held the rapt attention of an audience which was seamlessly drawn to a French seaside town.<br /><br />Becoming one with the moment, embodying the strength of the tanti of the ever dynamic kaal, a performance by 3 powerful feminine forces — Anandavalli, Narelle and Parvathy — the fest concluded with the promise of a timeless synergy of Indian classical nritya, contemporary dance and Baul. While the women let their inner energies flow, the men — Bahauddin Dagar on the rudraveena, Patrick Cybinski on the cello, Ravi Gopalan Nair, the renowned theyyam artiste, and Arne Ursin, supported, embraced and embodied the powerful, divine feminine in sync with the magnitude of Tantidhatri 2016.<br /><br />Govindarajan <br /></div>
<div>Let me hear your voice again, the time for song has returned,” crooned Sandra Pasini on a nascent summer evening in Bengaluru.<br /><br /> As the musician from Italy, guitar in hand, expressed herself in her mother tongue, the audience seamlessly connected to her emotion in timeless transit merging space, people and continents. “It’s my first time in India and I feel the strong spirituality, which combines different feminine energies converged here, yet holding their own,” expressed Sandra. <br /><br />Days after the conclusion of the Tantidhatri fest, sitting in the serene heart of Ranga Shankara, there is a yearning to hear Sandra’s soulful voice yet again and revisit those terrains that powerful women artistes and speakers — Sin Cha Hong, Gilla Cremer, Anandavalli, Narelle Benjamin, Julia Varley, Parvathy Baul, Tina Milo, Dijana Milosevic, Revathy, Geddy Aniksdal, Helen Jamieson, Arundathi Nag, Khushi Kabir, Shabnam Virmani, Vandana Shiva, A Revathi, Dimple Shah, Kamla Bhasin, Carolina Pizzaro and Pelva Naik — from across the globe took the audience to, recently.<br /><br />What brought them to India was Parvathy’s endeavour to create a platform for women performers from across the globe and open dialogues on the feminine. “I chose Bengaluru only because of Arundathi Nag and what she has made of RangaShankara. She, a woman who lost her husband at the age of 34, stood on her own to give people this beautiful performance space,” concedes the Baul par excellence, her sparkling eyes welling with tears.<br /><br />Parvathy’s heart drives her choices. “I had met all the women who are in Bengaluru to perform at different festivals and connected with them on a personal level. Now that they are here, I can only give them my tears of gratefulness and love for their constant dedication, trust and faith in me, each artiste, each speaker, giving off her best,” she adds.<br /><br />Tantidhatri, the derivative of the Pali words ‘tanti’, meaning ‘that thread which goes beyond time’ and ‘dhatri’, translating ‘the woman who holds it’, made its presence in India first in the year 2012 in Pondicherry.<br /><br />“Last time,” points out Julia, who is in India to perform again, “Parvathy was surrounded by protective men. This time around, she has stood on her own, which is in sync with what we want to do.” Julia, a formidable senior theatre artiste who showcased precision and emotion without revealing her face once throughout her rendition of the world-acclaimed play Ave Maria, is among the founders of the Magdalena Project, which was established in 1986 as a network of women in contemporary theatre. In fact, many of the senior and seasoned artistes who performed at Tantidhatri 2016 are connected with Magdalena and its Transit theatre festival, which is an annual affair in Denmark.<br /><br />Role reversal<br /><br />Geddy, a member of Magdalena from Norway, who portrayed 7 Songs of a Refugee with impeccable precision here, talks of why she chose to play the role of a man: “I think I have a masculine side. I grew up in a working class family, with my father and brothers toiling in the industry. They are both deep individuals and my role in theatre resembles their work,” says the lady, who, through her portrayal of the masculine, uplifted the power of the feminine to be able to mask all emotional, geographical and physical boundaries in testimony of her years of experience.<br /><br />“For feminism to grow, it is important for us, older performers, to reach out to the men as well. If by the work I am doing I can be of help, I am happy,” smiles Geddy, the meticulous, serious exponent of theatre. Another heart-wrenching rendition about a woman with a mental disability who takes her children to the seaside and commits a drastic crime to save them from imminent poverty, by seasoned artiste Gilla, impressed the audiences. <br /><br />“Back in the 80s, when I was with a theatre group, I got pregnant and my co-artistes wondered whether I would be able to give my best. So I decided to go solo and chose themes like IVF, what happens on the other side of a concentration camp, and Sea Side, which premiered at Hamburg’s leading English theatre, Thalia,” says Gilla, who held the rapt attention of an audience which was seamlessly drawn to a French seaside town.<br /><br />Becoming one with the moment, embodying the strength of the tanti of the ever dynamic kaal, a performance by 3 powerful feminine forces — Anandavalli, Narelle and Parvathy — the fest concluded with the promise of a timeless synergy of Indian classical nritya, contemporary dance and Baul. While the women let their inner energies flow, the men — Bahauddin Dagar on the rudraveena, Patrick Cybinski on the cello, Ravi Gopalan Nair, the renowned theyyam artiste, and Arne Ursin, supported, embraced and embodied the powerful, divine feminine in sync with the magnitude of Tantidhatri 2016.<br /><br />Govindarajan <br /></div>
