Creative inspiration can come from anywhere, even the most mundane source. But the idea needs to be pondered over and refined to give it a tangible form. That is what Manjari, daughter and disciple of Jaya and Prof.C.V. Chandrasekar, did. She took up the earthen pot as a theme and wove it into her dance.
Speaking about this unusual idea, Manjari said, “growing up in Banares, a short, beautiful Hindi poem that was a part of my classroom lesson appealed to me. The poem speaks of a pot ( in the first person) on its journey, beginning from earth and returning to it. As an adult, I revisited this poem and realised the deep underlying philosophical meaning, and decided to explore it as a dance narrative”.
Thus was born Manjari’s dance production, ‘The Earthen Pot’, which she performed at a small intimate space in Palavakkam — Sahridhaya centre. The aesthetically done up space even camouflaged the wire running across the floor with masking tape, and the flowers and diyas added to the ambience.
Starting with its genesis, the circular movements of the chakra (wheel), symbolic of evolution of life, slowly merged to become a potter’s wheel. The fertile clay nurtured on the river bedwas transformed by kneading to become the potter’s clay. Shaped by the wheel, it was metamorphosed by the fire and emerged as the finished product. All depicted beautifully.
The pot, which attains a life of its own, dons various roles from friend to jealous lover and Manjari creatively used the various positions of holding the pot — on the waist, shoulder and head to translate the ideas. Episodes from Sohni Mahiwal story and gossip sessions that the pot is party to at the Panghat were included in the narrative. That a pot could sustain audience’s interest was largely due to the clarity of thought and creative visualisation of the dancer.
The concept also needed a musical input to make it work and the musical score, so beautifully conceived, used swaras, jathikorvais and alaaps for the most part and one never felt the absence of lyrics or songs, which were few and far between.
Speaking about the musical score, Manjari said, “I was clear about the broad framework and then worked on it with my father (composing) and Shijith Krishna (for the rhythmic patterns). It was not fragmented with each one composing their section, but one where I was a part of every bit of the score that was being composed. This dialogue helped to embellish every nuance, that was necessary for an aesthetic output. Aditya Prakash translated these ideas with his sensitive, melodious singing accompanied by a talented team.”
