This being human is a guest house. Every morning a new arrival — The Guest House by Rumi
“Love is the holy religion and the universe is the book of sanctity.” Seems this message justly underlines the essence of humanity as a healer of deep, gory wounds and the concept of one world as a single family-unit, amidst all diverse races, religions, castes, creeds, colours, et al. Propounded by Maulana Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi, the world-renowned 13th-century Persian poet in practically all of his poetic works, the meaning still sounds so relevant in today’s times. One who was also a well-acclaimed theologian and a Sufi mystic, was popularly known to the English-speaking belts simply as Rumi. As a great visionary, this idealist legend had always espoused a secular path to walk along even eight centuries ago. Though the time-span has been a long and a colossal one in between, yet the content rings a resounding bell across all self-centred minds. It echoes as a panacean mantra in their ears to ward off a massive crisis even in this contemporary age. “I see one altar in temple, mosque and cathedral,” once cited the spiritual leader who would invoke God through his bejewelled creations. Feeling one with divinity is a rare experience and only the blessed, enlightened souls can encounter it. But as Rumi puts in his quintessential verses, which are no less than pearls beaded with his beautiful words, that the Almighty and His magical powers reside inside mankind, only to be sought and discovered under a light of knowledge. It is an intrinsic nectar that needs to be sieved and filtered out through impurities of seven deadly sins only to morally cleanse the soul from time to time. Well in the heart then lies our conscience which acts as a refinery to a human soul, daily being contaminated with the soil and dirt of mere, sordid existence. Picking a slender, sensitive thread from this profound philosophy, the reputed precinct of Ananda Shankar Centre for Performing Arts recently showcased their ethereal stage-spectacle — We, The Living — with a palette of soothing shades at Kolkata’s prestigious Kalamandir auditorium. The programme was supported by the Ministry of Culture, Government of India.
The brand new production from the gharana of Shankar Technique of New Dance style presented a bevy of agile dancers pirouetting in a circle, making some speedy moves which only calls for a nimble-footed performer’s acrobatic skills or spinning with a tilt in one axis like those magic whirls of the ascetic Muslim dervishes. Conceptualised and choreographed by ace danseuse Tanusree Shankar, the lilting notes for this musical piece were scored by reputed composer, Debajyoti Mishra.
“Music is an integral part of this project no doubt. And it has been perfectly married to the script in sync with its deep-seated theme,” assures Shankar.
The stage-rendition was inspired by the work of eternal Sufi bard Rumi, who envisages God’s greatest creation — human beings — to have a unique potential to transcend the earthly barriers of different cultural codes, varied religious schisms and several geographical divisions and simultaneously blur the ideological differences on their way to merge as one unified cluster of civilisation. Thus, Tanusree Shankar’s offering on stage celebrated what may be called the life force. It’s a complete visual treat to watch out for. At the very outset of We, The Living journey, she guided the viewers to visualise the invincible force of will-power to struggle and wriggle out desperately from an abysmal pit of chaotic, amoebic shapelessness, only to emerge and evolve into some orgasmic forms. In other words, to attain a mass of bodily shape and structure. Further to this are added five indriyas or the vital sense-organs and then, the nine rasas or emotions, all residing like guests into the body. Before these differences can be harmonised into an integrated whole, there is a process of intense soul-searching, as if by a loyal devotee who looks for God everywhere, only to realise at the end of his long, elaborate quest, that divinity lies within himself. This ultimate state of happy harmony spawns a condition of pure ecstasy, thereby giving rise to a feeling of unbound elation. It is like the blowing of a blissful breeze, thus infusing a fresh lease of life into all bodily organs.
Having moulded her vision into an aesthetic choreographic canvas, Shankar elucidates: “We have based our work upon eminent American poet Coleman Barks’ translated version or say, a lucid interpretation of Rumi’s everlasting gems on human beings. This particular venture too embarks on one of the mystical poet’s memorable poems. It so happened that I was gifted this book of Barks by a friend in America while staying there for a short period. Then one fine day, when I was flipping through it, my eyes just froze on the English translated text of a verse by Rumi. In a moment, I got drawn towards it and it left an indelible mark on my sub-consciousness. It is impossible to even scratch the surface of his vast illustrious repertoire and so I thought, why not then delve into a single drop of his ocean. What you’ve seen on stage in a 40-minute act is only a tip of the iceberg I would say.”