Geeta Chandran and her dance company during a performance of Pankh PHOTO: S. Dhillon

She is the symbol of undying love, care and warmth. She is the unparalleled beauty who can sweep you off your feet. Her smile makes your day, her selflessness completes your world. She is the silent symbol of power. Without her, this world would not be an exciting place. She is a woman.
To celebrate womanhood, iconic Bharatanatyam dancer, Geeta Chandran, showcased a women’s embodiment of endless love, power, resilience and commitment by reciting a Maharashtrian story dealing with gender related issues through her dance form in the capital, on the occasion of the International Women’s week. She says that it is ironic that the right to personhood continues to challenge the women’s movement in South Asia. “The recital lay emphasises on women’s right to identity. Pankh will present new narratives that bring alive the dilemmas of women attaining their personhood,” she says.
The performance is presented through traditional lyrics and contemporary poems (including Maya Angelou’s iconic poem, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings). Pankh attempts to challenge social mores that repeatedly attempt to confine women to an identity of verbs and adjectives. “Her” inner desire to become a noun, becomes the leitmotif of Pankh.
She believes that the idea of dedicating a day to women is taking stock of what is happening all around the world. The day is about celebrating womanhood and recalling that not long ago, women were second-class citizens.
“A lot more needs to be done to achieve equality of opportunity for women from various backgrounds. What problems lie ahead and how much have women been able to deal with it. A single movement, the medium of which may differ may lead her to believe that she is special. It is sad that we live in two Indias. In one, women are breaking the glass ceiling and trying to change not only their own lives but the society too, while in the other, women are still lagging behind. We need to bridge this gap. The essential spirit of the woman is the same everywhere. All we need to do is to stand up together and help them break the barrier,” she says.
A woman, whose story is both encouraging and complex, lives and breathes in her dance form. Trained by exalted classical Bharata-natyam gurus, celebrated as a consummate classical dancer, Geeta has worked at erasing orthodoxies in the world of classical dance. She began learning dance from the tender age of 5 from Swarna Saraswathy, who hailed from the well-known Thanjavur devdasi parampara.
It is this mission that has led her to undertake unusual collaborations; she has worked with painters, musicians and theatre persons to create new works of contemporary relevance that intrigue the young minds. Her works are well-known for conveying a social message through your choreographies, particularly those relating to gender issues. How far can dance go in conveying a message?
“Performing arts is an important tool, which requires minimum taam jhaam as compared to anything else. The technique of classical is extremely powerful; it can turn the move in a tangible way. The art has to reflect one’s concerns and engagements. I have dealt with the issues of violence, trafficking of women, dowry deaths with utmost sincerity for the past 25 years. I was convinced that I was lucky enough to be in a profession where women are showcased, so I had to show others the path. Dealing with different issues has led me through different paths and I am proud to say that I have grown as a woman,” she says.
Chandran believes that the generation today is smarter and more open to adapting and appreciating something new.
“Gone are the days when we had an informed audience who knew about all the tala’s of dance. I am happy to see that today, our audience is the young children who do not have a background yet they are intrigued to learn something new. While keeping the traditional flavour we make the dance contemporary to address the youth in a right way. That to me is the critical additionality that dance brings to the GenNext. And that is what they are responding to. Dance through its discipline and values should give them knowledge, and not just information,” she says.
The kind of response it evokes from the youth shows that more and more people are willing to learn dance. “Whether they all become dancers is open to question. In my fond hope, they would at least become an enlightened audience,” she explains.
Padma Shri awardee Chandran believes that art can change the world and that artists can show the path. She is celebrated not only for her deep and composite understanding of the art of Bharatanatyam and performance, but also for her Carnatic music, her work in television, video and film, theatre, choreography, and dance-issue journalism.