Turning the wheel of fortune

Photo: S. Subramanium

Poise and perseverance Dancers of Ability Unlimited during Varaha avatara sequence of ‘Dashavatara’

To become fearless, is that not what artistes aspire to? Fear of being laughed at, fear of looking ugly, of falling, of failing… countless fears stand between the artiste and creative excellence. And it was obvious that students of Guru Syed Sa llauddin Pasha, who this past weekend presented “Bharatanatyam on Wheels”, with the dance form adapted to wheelchair users, had taken the path to victory over fear. It was evident in the abandon with which they manoeuvred their wheelchairs across the Kamani stage in choreographic formations, spun them in pirouettes and flung themselves backwards, sending the wheels up towards the ceiling, without missing a beat.

It is not that the students, members of Pasha’s company, Ability Unlimited – India, have not done these things before over the years. But this time there was an additional challenge: to accomplish all this without straying from the format of Bharatanatyam, with its precise music, typical rhythmic patterns, its code of mudras and approach to expression (bhava).

After the elaborate Dasha Disha, paying homage to the guardians of the 10 directions, with interspersed shlokas and nritta patterns, they presented a prayer to Ganesh, “Shri Maha Ganapatim Bhajeham”. The main presentation was Dashavataram, in which the dancers depicted, dance drama style, the 10 incarnations of Vishnu. The essentials of each story were succinctly brought out using dramatic interaction and tableaux, interwoven with nritta pieces.

The front (smaller) wheels of the dancer’s wheelchairs are used to substitute footwork by lifting them up and placing them on the floor in rhythm. Leg stretches (such as prenkhanam) and continuous movement across the floor are represented by propelling the wheelchairs across the stage. Their smooth rolling accompanied by hand gestures and the deft handling of the rolling chairs, never clashing with each other, were a triumph of practice and choreography. The dancers’ movements of the upper body and arms were well chiselled and firm.

The dancer representing Mount Mandara, during the churning of the ocean by gods and demons, showed the mountain toppling over by tipping his wheelchair backwards so that his head and back were on the ground. It was a dramatic moment and perfectly timed. A similar feat occurred in the Narasimha scene, where Hiranyakashipu was shown lying across the knees of the incarnation. This pose is particularly important, since according to the story, the evil king could not be killed either on the ground or in the air. Thus the dancer could be seen suspended, evoking awed applause.

The dancers refrained from an excess of theatricality in portraying the various characters. This was refreshing, since often in an effort to portray the theme convincingly, artistes exaggerate instead of deepening the bhava while staying within the stylised medium. One hopes the artistes of Ability Unlimited will retain this approach as they achieve greater depth in their expression. The recorded soundtrack too, instead of belting out the inane laughter that has become the signature tune for rakshasas, relied on music, voices and rhythm for effect. The only concession to popular perceptions was the use of the multimedia screen backdrop. But the attention paid to various departments of the production was obvious. Guru Sallauddin Pasha, by launching, many years ago, a theatre company with only disabled artistes, challenged India’s double handicap: One, that art is still seen as an economically risky profession, even for ‘normal’ folks, because society does not accept the arts as an essential component of a civilised life; and, two, there is a pronounced and traditional reluctance to induct the physically and/or mentally challenged into professional creative pursuits.

With Ability Unlimited, Pasha has turned a dream into a viable success. Now that he has taught and continues to teach freedom from fear to his students, it is time society learnt to get over its fears and prejudices too. It was heartening to hear chief guest Rakesh Mehta, Chief Secretary, Government of NCT, say he would recommend the troupe for inclusion in the cultural programme being chalked out for the Commonwealth Games.

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