To many in our culture, Sita is revered as the perfect wife, steadfastly faithful to her husband Rama. ‘Aham Sita,’ a JustUs Repertory production, presented different perspectives of the women in the Ramayana while focussing on the main character of Sita. The show was presented under the aegis of Kartik Fine Arts at the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan.
Drawn from theatre, dance, music and poetry, this was a collage where images of the young and beautiful princess nudged shoulders with the lament of a gracious queen, where a lusty demoness bemoaned her fate alongside a soliloquy by the wife of an ascetic. The production, a brainchild of the multi-faceted Gowri Ramnarayan, cast an analytical light on the traditional model where Sita is ever obedient and docile.
The characters of Urmila, Ahalya, Surpanakha and Mandodari shared human feelings of what could have been and what was lost because of the vagaries of fate. Articulated by Gowri, these segments not only brought in depth of emotion but also rekindled the angst of women who fall victim to circumstance.
Bharatanatyam artist Vidhya Subramaniam, in the role of Sita progressing through the timeline of the Ramayana, brought in colour and grace through her dancing. Abhinaya from Bharatanatyam lexis and English dialogues combined in her visualisation of Sita as a proud woman capable of holding her own in the face of adversity. The dance portions provided energy and sensual elements necessary for the idiom while her dialogue emphasised the resolute spirit of the princess of Mithila.
Nisha Rajagopalan’s singing wove in and out of the story with ease, highlighting where necessary, toning down where the drama needed accentuation and always playing an intelligent role in the production.
The production took a critical look at the popular notion of Rama and Sita as beyond reproach. Urmila’s query, that if it was Sita’s duty to follow her husband, why did the same logic not apply to her when she was left behind, was as pithy as Surpanakha’s bitter recollections which rued Aryan control over the Dravidian people.
Culled from classical texts such as Valmiki Ramayanam and contemporary works such as those of Ambai, the production spotlighted the struggles of women over the ages. The narrative also looked at human errors and foibles which have prevailed over centuries. Verses from Kamba Ramayanam, Arunachala Kavi’s Ramanatakam and Tulsi Ramayan set in mellifluous ragas such as Bilahari, Vasanta, Hamsanandam and the ghana ragas gave strength to the music, featuring audio track and live singing.
For such a thought-provoking theme, ‘Aham Sita’ could have carried better cogency of bhava among the three elements in the beginning sequences. In the first few scenes, if Gowri’s emotional outpouring created a particular ambience, Vidhya’s dancing and Nisha’s singing, though qualitatively laudable, did not dovetail with the prevailing refrain and stayed as separate agents. The occurrence of power outage was unfortunate as the entire scene had to be replayed. As the story devolved, the dialogue, music and dance grew closer links. The concluding scenes where the universality of women was reiterated made a powerful impact.
Script, direction and music design by Gowri Ramnarayan, dance and dance choreography by Vidhya Subramaniam and vocal singing by Nisha Rajagopalan, were three artistic expressions of today’s Sitas.
