Natya Vriksha presents "GANDHI: Warp and Weft" solo dance drama by Geeta Chandran at Stein Auditorium, India Habitat Centre (IHC), Lodhi Road > 7:30pm on 25th September 2013

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Time : 7:30 pm 

Duration : 60 min.

Entry : Free (Seating on First-Come First-Served basis)
Note : Call  91-11-43663333 (Habitat World) to re-confirm any last minute change or cancellation of the event.

Place : Stein Auditorium, India Habitat Centre (IHC), Lodhi Road, New Delhi-110003
Parking : Gate No. 1 to 3 (Cars), Gate No. 2 (Bikes & Bicycles)
Venue Info : Events | About | Map | Nearest Metro Stations :
'Jor Bagh(Yellow Line)Exit Gate-1' - Walk Direction
'Khan Market(Violet Line)'
Area : Lodhi Road Area Events

Event Description : Ahead of Gandhi Jayanti, Dancer/Choreographer (Padmashri) Geeta Chandran invites you to view her new abstract of dance-theatre, “GANDHI: Warp and Weft” that explores key concepts from Gandhian philosophy through the narrative lens of a female dancer in the 21st century, where choreography plays with ideology through abstract movement as well as narrative gestures, and incorporates both classical Bharatanatyam as well as contemporary movement theatre in its physical vocabulary. In her performance Chandran explores key Gandhian concepts of Religious Tolerance, Celibacy, Satyagraha, Ahimsa, Caste politics and Khadi. 

In the performance the six concepts interpreted through dance, flow contiguously from one to the other. The first concept of religious unity is connected to the deep reliance on spiritual syncretism that Gandhi propagated. Celibacy probes Gandhi’s lifelong experiment to set aside desires of the flesh while remaining in other ways an active householder and husband. The theme of Satyagraha and is inspired by Gandhi’s prison writings, his mass civil disobedience movements and epochal moments like the Dandi march. From there, begins the exploration of Ahimsa, both in the concept of turning the other cheek as a peace offering, as well as the violence inflicted on the self through radical protests such as hunger strikes.

The fifth segment looks at Caste and Shram with an eye both to the reformations of the past that Gandhi sought regarding dignity of labour, as well as the atrocities of caste oppression that continue even today. The concluding section Khadi examines Gandhi’s belief for ecological sustainability and balance, and uses thread as a metaphor for the bonds that the Gandhian movement sought to create across the nation.

The music base for “GANDHI: Waft & Weft” has been created by Geeta Chandran, based on which an evocative soundscape was engineered by sound artist Pratik Biswas, weaving diverse sound elements ranging from traditional Carnatic tracks to the more esoterically abstract and startlingly contemporary.

Related Events : Classical Dance | Dance