Kathak danseuse Shovana Naryan has created ballets based on lives of two iconic women - Mughal Princess Jehan Ara and Rabindranath Tagore's muse Kadambari Devi- to reflect the grip of social circumstances on women.
"Both Kadambari and Jehan Ara were powerful women who belonged to elite families. They were well-educated and strong women, yet in one way or the other they succumbed to something which was beyond them and led the life of non-fulfilment," Shovana told PTI in an interview.
In the festival titled "Tryst with the Past", Shovana says she has recreated the lives of two women set in different centuries through a series of ballet performances namely "Jehan Ara: The Enigmatic Mughal Princess" and "Kadambari: The Poet's Muse", to reflect on the social circumstances which continue to cage women, even in today's times.
While Kadambari Devi, the sister-in-law of Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore was well-versed in Indian classical literature and wielded great power yet she always hankered for her husband's love and could never bear a child.
Similarly, despite being the most qualified, Jehan Ara, the daughter of Shah Jahan could not become an empress.
"Thus, both women were strong and powerful but there were things beyond control. There were threshold limits in each of their lives," says Shovana.
The danseuse, says there's a lot to learn from the two women both of whom despite being traditional and strong had to face adversities.
"This only reflects human frailty. Life is full of opposites, everyone has both strong and weak moments. Who knows, a meek person may one day put up a strong front," says Shovana.
The danseuse, who has previously performed a critically acclaimed dance piece on "Yashodhara" based on Gautam Buddha's wife, says both Kadambari and Jehan Ara strike her as very inspirational characters.
"Being brought up in the house of Tagore's niece, I always grew up hearing about Kadambari. So, even as a child I was intrigued by her as her name kept lurking everywhere. Similarly, Jehan Ara became the pillar of strength for those around her yet no one could stand by her. Both characters intrigued me a lot," says Narayan.
Recounting research as the most important challenge she faced while conceptualising the performances, Shovana says, "What I knew about Kadambari were mostly stories told to me. I had nothing substantial written therefore there was a lot of research to be done. I read up a lot, spoke to many others and made sure the overall performance wasn't nuanced at all.
