Celebrating Indian Mythology

To showcase the best of dance forms and abhinaya, Shriram Kala Kendra is organising the 13th edition of ‘Festival of Ballets’ at Kamani Auditorium in the national Capital. There will be four enthralling performances within a duration of two weeks. 

The festival which begins on May 6 will have performances that focus on the lives of mythological characters such as Meera, Durga, Karna and Abhimanyu. On Friday, May 6 ‘Meera’ will be performed showcasing her struggle. Her glory lies in her ability to articulate through poetry, the turbulence that transpired in her life. 

Her life seems to be a metaphor for most women, where centuries later, Meera’s still name lives on. Wherever Meera went, she spread the message of liberation and urged an inner awakening, through the effervescence of her poetry. 

Produced and directed by Shobha Deepak Singh the performance will be followed by another ballet, titled-‘Shree Durga’, the next day. Shree Durga’s persona resonates even in today’s context, where everyone reads daily about the atrocities on women. This ballet depicts how gods evoke Stree Shakti when they fall into their own habit of giving boons. The perfrmance shows alternatives to vanquish demons in society, demonstrating that female power conquers over them.

On Friday, May 13, a performance on the life of ‘Karna’ will be held. His persona in Mahabharata will be showcased where circumstances remain consistently hostile. His life and times frozen in entirety and his misfortunes into a perpetual predicament. 

This ballet is dedicated to all the Karnas, who are denied the rightful place in the social milieu, seen in its correct perspective. Karna’s life was repetitively unfair, eliciting sympathy. His life in the epic is complete with magnificent misadventures and acts of valour. On Saturday, May 14, a performance on the life of ‘Abhimanyu’ will be held, whose story of youthful enthusiasm and selfless valour, torn apart by vested interests and vicious hostilities, is the root of an injustice that we all feel acutely, but in different ways. 

‘Abhimanyu’ leaves his mortal remains and ascends the celestial path. He imparts the lesson that violence is useless in resolving any dispute. There are no winners in a battle — the spoils of war being not riches — but senseless death and desolation.