Throwing light on a woman’s mind trapped in a black box

Bharatanatyam exponent Krithika Subramanian, in her upcoming performance Jagriti, will use songs, poems and literature from traditional languages and explore the parallel between them and the women of today. 

It portrays the psyche of Indian women as the embodiment of Indian goddesses. “I was reading a lot of poetry by Sarojini Naidu and discovered her representation of the dichotomous nature of Indian women as oppressed minds to suit glorified cultural mores and powerful beings waiting to break free. 

I created an imaginary dialogue between her and poet Rumi who was most progressive in his writing on women. That’s how Jagriti happened,” says Krithika who is also an architect and designer.

The performance traces the birth of a young girl child who is named Jagriti by her radical mother. She is moulded and shaped by her cultural leanings, social conditioning and instinctive reactions as a growing woman and her mother re-shapes her at every stage into someone stronger. Eventually, she matures into a confident and powerful person by her own inner wisdom which is influenced by the inherent qualities of different goddesses she possesses.

Why the title Black Box Awakens? “The Black Box here refers to the mind of the woman which is unseen in darkness. It is this territory that I’m trying to throw light on and show how it is when it awakens,” she adds.

Interweaving the concept of women empowerment in Bharatanatyam has its share of challenges. “The greatest task is always dealing with narrow-minded vision of the critics, who unlike the progressive audience, are not quite open to the idea of modern narrative in performance art. To create work and perform it in a place where the so-called purists want more of the same and celebrate stereotyped conformism is the problem,” muses Krithika who will present the piece at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan on January 5.

A student of Sudharani Raghupathy, though her works remain rooted in the Pandanallur style, she has consistently attempted to explore contemporary dance theatre. “It is important to explore new perspective to keep the art relevant, while also not straying away from its roots,” she says.

As testimony to her conviction, she says, “This year, I plan to perform solo recitals that showcase the versatility of the Tanjavur style that I feel has been drowned in the cesspool of pining heroines grinding sandalwood paste and weaving garlands. Dance must move into a more powerful language.”