When Sita met Draupadi

Jyotsna Shourie, the Bharatnatyam danseuse, did the unthinkable by bringing two very powerful women belonging to different eras together on stage. In her dance and theatre dialogue sequence Face to Face, she brings together Sita and Draupadi who lament about the lives they share in common.

‘Though they lived in different eras, these extraordinary women led parallel lives, and were put to severe tests, yet emerged with their pride and grace intact. Their actions determined the fate of generations to follow. Though intrinsically different, one more nurturing, being born from mother earth and the other more aggressive being born from fire, they wielded twin concepts of power and compassion throughout their lives,’ said Jyotsna.

Shourie, who has conceived, choreographed and scripted Face to Face, portrays the life of two iconic figures [Sita and Draupadi] after a lot of extensive research combined with her own interpretation.

‘I have kept the grace and pride of both the women intact while showing the similarities and differences of their respective lives. It’s put on stage from a modern day perspective in order to appeal to the new age audience,’ said Jyotsna.

The underlying concept is how both women had to give in and sacrifice under the patriarchal control. They gave into death to live their sanctity. The theatrical drama unfolds through the Bharatanatyam, technique of rhythmic dance and mime and a third element of the spoken words in English. ‘It is a dance theatre with all three being woven together to present a novel viewing experience,’ she added.

Face to Face is a 75 minute long production with artistes like Nandita Kalaan, Aneesha Grover, Ishita Matharu, Sana Hasan, Abhimanyu Sharma participating with music composition and vocals by OS Arun.

‘I aspire to widen the frontiers of classical dance through new avenues and constant improvisations,’ said the 60-year-old.