Strings of enchantment ragas from life of PT. Ravi Shankar

CHENNAI: When the sitar resonated under Pandit Ravi Shankar’s fingers, it wasn’t just music; it was a dialogue with the divine, a bridge between tradition and innovation. He dazzled the world with his sitar, but the virtuoso’s story was never a straight raga, it was full of dissonance, doubts, and daring improvisations.

Rooted in research yet enriched by personal memories and candid conversations with the sitar maestro, Gowri Ramnarayan’s Enchantment, a bioplay, celebrates not only Ravi Shankar’s genius but also the human spirit’s ability to turn struggle into song. It doesn’t just trace the arc of his life, but listens for the silences between the notes.

“The Ravi Shankar the audience will be seeing on stage is someone seen through my eyes and imagination. It is an adaptation and not a biography. It is the version of Panditji as I understood him,” starts Gowri Ramnarayan, the director of the bioplay.

It was in 2020, when the US tour, which was a tribute to the sitar virtuoso on his birth centenary, was cancelled due to the pandemic. “The lockdown was implemented, and all of us were confined to our homes. But the idea of the tribute kept kneading in me. So, I penned a play,” she says.

As Ravi Shankar was her family friend, Gowri got the opportunity to observe him closely. She used to hear numerous stories about him from various quarters and read many articles about him. “During my childhood, we used to have family and friends gathering at our house. There was a lot of exchange of music, and I grew up listening to him. That’s when I realised he became a part of my journey. While writing the play, all those memories flooded back and I had an understanding of the man not only as an artiste but as a person,” she adds.

Enchantment probes into his struggles, personal weaknesses, and regrets, to understand how he kept his dreams alive on the bumpy journey to stardom. It also highlights a universal truth: that human grit has the power to transform trials into triumphs.

Giving us a different side of Ravi Shankar, Gowri notes that he was a voracious reader and fond of poetry, beyond music. Interestingly, she decided to use his own compositions to deliver emotions that can’t be expressed through words or actions. “It includes reflecting his shifting moods and pauses, which cannot be penned in words,” she shares.

With live performances by Yohan Chacko, Aarabi Veeraraghavan, Vidhya Subramanian, Renjith, and Vijna, Bombay Jayashri Ramnath is the lead vocalist, alongside Aditya Prakash, Vignesh Ishwar, and Chaitra Sairam. Sai Shravanam and Vishnu Vijay are on tabla and flute, respectively. Sneha Sheejith handles the lighting and sound.

Gowri hopes that at the end of the play, the audience will feel a human’s struggle to reach their highest potential. “Whatever he did, he struggled hard to give his best, and that idea is quite relatable to everyone. I would love the audience to feel a sense of compassion and understand the unremitting challenges one endures,” she says, quoting Robert Browning’s phrase, ‘A man’s reach should exceed his grasp, or what’s a heaven for?’ “Ravi Shankar was someone who always wanted to grasp more and more,” adds the playwright.

Bringing Enchantment to life was not a bed of roses. There were quite a few hurdles that needed to be overcome. “It was difficult to create the ambience of Indian art and culture while presenting a global icon. One cannot have a play just about a person. It has to be a universal saga, and I decided that the person should be one empowered by conviction, determination, and commitment. Moreover, theatre is the actors’ medium. So, I really wanted my actors to aspire to something beyond themselves,” Gowri elucidates.

According to Gowri, the involvement of young people in theatre is the best thing because it allows for fresh and diverse perspectives. “It is also the audience’s medium. I hope we get a more discerning audience, as that will help in the evolution of theatre.”

The proceedings from the evening, filled with music, dance, and storytelling, will be in support of REACH NGO, which works towards awareness and prevention of Tuberculosis. “Panditji would have been the happiest because the concert that he valued the most was the one he performed for victims during the Bangladesh crisis,” Gowri concludes with a heartfelt smile.

Enchantment, a bioplay, will take place on September 12 at 6:30 pm at Museum Theatre, Egmore. Head to BookMyShow to block your tickets for a magical evening or contact 9840089030.