Drawing shakti from music and movement

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— PHOTOS: David Desouza

You know you are speaking to an accomplished performer if she talks about how she still feels like a child every time she approaches something new. Well-known Kathak and contemporary danseuse admits that she loves the child-like enthusiasm she maintains.

It helps her stay in touch with her inner self. With her latest production Shiv Shakti, which is going to be showcased at NCPA’s ongoing contemporary dance festival, Daksha Sheth says that a lot has gone into this production.
As per the ancient Indian philosophy, Shakti exists in every atom of a human being, but also in the smallest particle of the universe, which refers to the subatomic state. While Shiva represents the male principle, pure consciousness, denoted in Tantric texts by the white upward facing triangle, Shakti is dynamic feminine energy, denoted by the red downward facing triangle. The universe in all its diversity arises from the union of these two principles. In its dormant state Shakti is represented by a coiled snake nestled at the base of the spine. When this energy is awakened, it ascends through the seven charkas and unites above the crown of the head with Shiva, blossoming into an experience of bliss and unbound freedom. Shiv Shakti features Pung Cholom drummers from Manipur who combine dynamic movements with their live drumming offering a visually stunning combination.
“I chose this project for several reasons. It is an idea extremely close to us. Shiv Shakti is a spiritual concept. While many artistes have performed in the past, this is a different interpretation. We thought of several names for the concept but Shiv Shakti had an instant connect. The aspect of life of through the male and female energy is a concept that has been explored. But what we are trying to show is different and this production has taken over two years for that. I absolutely loved the learning process I went through while working on this production. It wasn’t something that stemmed out of doing something for the sake of it,” she says.
The constant process of trial and error kept Daksha looking for the best. “It takes a lot of discipline and constant practice. You start off with a concept and then see where it goes. After a month, we change it and again try something new. I will never give up on something that I want to execute and till I am happy about it. One needs to go through the self-examination. I think it is one of the toughest in the world. You are your own critic and instinctively know when something is going right or wrong,” explains Daksha.
She says that she can’t understand why people opt for mediocre work. “Mediocrity just kills you. Only if we challenge ourselves, are we able to reach somewhere in life. The process of doing something challenging and pushing yourself is quite overwhelming in many ways. I wait to surprise myself and I have to be patient for it. There is a moment when you truly are surprised by what you do,” she says.

Artistic freedom is welcome and Daksha is glad that she is able to have it. “We fund ourselves. So we don’t have to please everybody and be under anyone’s control. Here we are our own bosses and that sense of freedom and authority is exhilarating. But we also have to make sure to come up with the best,” she says adding, “Nothing is perfect. It just depends in what kind of circumstance they find themselves in. If I am dealing with a situation at hand, I just know how to handle it my way simply because I don’t know any other way. For me, nothing is right or wrong. I find it valuable to share it with people and not try to prove a point.”
Daksha says that she is happy to know her limitations. “With every single work, we push our limitations. It is also humbling to know that these are your limitations and you have to work around them. I believe you can go to sleep if you don’t want to create or innovate. What’s the point of being an artiste then? I don’t think there is anything like being secure. I just don’t stop learning and I always want to be like a child. That child-like impulse and desire to do something often keeps me going,” she says.
While we are doing this interview over the phone at 11.30 in the night, Daksha has ideas brimming in her mind. “I still have ideas cooking for new work. My head keeps spinning with new things. Right now I am conceptualising my next production “Sari” which is a beautiful story about the cotton field. It’s tracing the journey of a cotton field. Right from the point a cottonseed grows to the weaving of a sari. I think the closer we are to nature, the better human beings we are. I guess I would have been doing something to do with nature had I not been a dancer,” she says.
Lastly, is dance a form of meditation for her? “For me, dance is not a form of meditation. I believe meditation has no form. It’s a sense of thoughtlessness and that has no form. It is empty, quiet, peaceful. Even five seconds of thoughtlessness is a challenge. I find anything formless to be beautiful. So dance to me would be more like a way of life. There is no separation between dance and the way I exist.”