Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Visual re-creation of vivacious nature

CHENNAI: Fishes danced mid-air, horses appeared as if from nowhere, and birds glided into flight in Hotel Taj Coromandel’s ball room on Sunday evening.

The who’s who of Chennai had gathered for the fundraiser of the National Association of the Blind (NAB), Tamil Nadu branch, where light, movement and simple objects like sticks and umbrellas recreated the magic of nature.

“To see a world in a grain of sand/ And a heaven in a wild flower/ Hold infinity in the palm of your hand/ And eternity in an hour.”

These lines from William Blake’s poem, ‘Auguries of Innocence’, inspired the ‘Simple Dreams’ performance by Ishara Puppet Theatre, said Dadi D. Pudumjee, who designed and directed the show.

Introducing the performance, he described it as a non-verbal, visual poem on nature and life.

Performers glided about the stage with the lightness and grace of ballerinas, moving props, objects and their bodies to create visual surprises.

The white sticks in their hands would suddenly come together as animated line drawings of animal or bird forms. Umbrellas would flutter open and close to create the imagery of flight.

The NAB runs projects and activities geared towards inclusion of the visually-impaired in the mainstream, said Alagu Muthu, president, NAB.

Industrialist ‘Nalli’ Kuppusamy Chetty released the NAB souvenir.

Kalakshetra director Leela Samson received the first copy.

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