PREVIEW
WALKING NAKED
Gitanjali Kolanad
Friday, November 16
University Theatre
Walking Naked to spiritual awakening
Gitanjali Kolanad compares saints to rock stars
"Think of the saints as rock stars – this will give you an idea of their impact on the people around them," says Gitanjali Kolanad, whose dance performance piece Walking Naked tells the story of the 12th century South Indian saint, Mahadevi Akka.
Mahadevi’s life is like a rock star’s, although she lived over 900 years ago. Born into wealth, her family promised her in marriage to the ruler of the region. She refused to accept the only option for women at that time, and with high drama ran away from her betrothed. He, captivated by her beauty, grabbed onto her sari to prevent her leaving. According to one story, she ran naked, her long hair covering her, leaving the sari in his hands. For Mahadevi, there was only one true love – her god.
As a child, Mahadevi was initiated into the worship of Shiva, one of the gods of Hinduism. One concept in Hinduism is that humans are separate from the divine – the devout dissolve this separation to realize ecstatic union with god. Mahadevi, experiencing this transcendent state, could not continue in a traditional way. She joined the community of Virasaivas, a radical group of Shiva devotees.
"People would gather together in large groups to listen to the Virasaiva devotees," says Gitanjali. "I imagine it to be something like Woodstock."
Mahadevi wrote and recited devotional poetry called vachana. Over 350 of her poems survived through the oral tradition and many of them describe her love of god, using symbols from nature or the female body as metaphor.
"Sunlight made visible, the whole length of a sky, movement of wind, leaf, flower, all six colours on tree, bush and creeper: All this is the day's worship. Night and day in your worship I forget myself O lord white as jasmine."
The radicalism of this poetry inspired Gitanjali's dance performance. Mahadevi’s intensity can still be scandalous – she casts herself as a "shameless girl" in love with her god.
Gitanjali started ballet in Winnipeg as a child and learned the dance style Bharata Natyam during a visit to India. This style originated with the devadasis, women dedicated to temples in South India, who through dance told stories of mythological gods and goddesses. The devadasis were later associated with prostitution and outlawed, but the dance form continues. Because it began expressing narratives, the style successfully translates Mahadevi’s extravagant life. Gitanjali also narrates the story and Mahadevi’s beautiful poetry, and in the process creates a contemporary performance using traditional forms.
In order to communicate the mystical experience, and to convey the magnificence of spiritual awakening, Gitanjali covers the stage in flowers, in itself a sacred ritual. She and her collaborator, Philip Zarrilli, found three metaphors from Mahadevi’s poetry to communicate knowledge of the divine. Mahadevi speaks of melting and burning into spiritual union, being bared, inside out. Three puppets visually portray these metaphors: a puppet of ice melts, a cloth puppet disembowels itself, and a puppet made of brass and paper burns.
Gitanjali performs Walking Naked throughout the world, discovering that Mahadevi’s personal transformation and rejection of convention is relevant to all. |
