Goddesses across Indian cultures portrayed in digital dance fest

“The second edition of Devi Diaries features performances by young and renowned dancers from all over India until October 31 on Narthaki’s YouTube channel. Artistes will portray Goddesses from different cultures of various regions in India, across dance styles, generations, and languages. The dance forms include Bharatanatyam, Mohiniyatam, Kuchipudi, Kathakali, Kathak, Sattriya and more. Several young artistes were auditioned and selected, and senior dancers have been invited to create new works that reflect their personal experiences of their favorite Goddess or a real-life female heroic figure, and develop a video presentation of their performance,” says Anita Ratnam.

“This year it is more important that we recognize the term female or feminine is not just for us who think are born as women. We have been pointedly inclusive and it’s important in Devi Diaries, that we reflect this inclusivity is not just about urban women but also those who live in other parts of India. Navarathiri is a time of gift-giving, visiting, and sharing experiences, particularly during the second year of COVID. Everything was so subdued and muted in 2020. This year, people are using Navarathiri as an excuse to reconnect with friends and many rituals. Not every home follows the tradition of golu keeping, but there is a way that every part of India celebrates. Keeping the spirit of the season, we have decided to do season 2 of Devi Diaries for not just ten days on Navarathiri, but spread it across the entire month of October,” Anita tells DT Next.

Some of the young artists who will be performing as part of this series include Shambhavi Jagdish, Kavya Muralidharan, Shubajit Khush Das, and Himanshu Srivastava.

Senior artists who will be presenting their work include Sharmila Biswas, Geeta Chandran, Rama Bharadhwaj, Priya Murle, and Narthaki Nataraj. Narthaki.com launched Devi Diaries in October 2020 inspired by the writings of Sri Aurobindo’s ‘The Mother’. On Vijayadashami (October 16), a special video called Bliss Catc(h)er will be launched.

A musical meeting of legends Muthuswami Dikshitar and Rabindranath Tagore, this video is a collaboration of ritual, personal diary, and the streets and sights of Chennai. A young four-member team using iPhones directed, filmed, and edited this 6-minute film over three sessions