Triveni Music & Art Center

Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, January 10 2024

RAMYA & ARNA

At our last stop of the India trip in Varanasi, Arna and I each had the opportunity to perform a solo at the Triveni Art Gallery, located in the heart of Varanasi. The piece that was performed first was Jagannath Swami, an invocation piece written about Lord Jagannath. This dance is a lively 11-minute combination of pure dance and abhinaya, where the dancer aims to portray their bhakti, or devotion, towards the subject of the dance while describing several of their physical attributes. The main challenge of this piece was to remain energetic while making sure that the audience understood the message behind my(Ramya’s) movements and expressions.

The following piece that was performed was Marana Re. This piece is a sabhinaya, which is a type of expressive item paired with rhythmic interludes. The piece describes the romantic relationship between Radha and Krishna and how it connects with the natural world, and even death. Radha seeks this death as she believes it to be a relief from life and also a form of immortality. This piece was very emotionally demanding, and allowed me (Arna) to explore different types of expressions in dance. The intricacies of the verses each brought out a different emotion and feeling. 

What was special about both Marana Re and Jagannath Swami was that they were choreographed by our guru, Smt. Sukanya Mukherji, so there was a mix of both her choreography and Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra’s choreography throughout the performance.

Performing in such an intimate venue was a really valuable experience, as we felt connected to each individual audience member.