Captivating weave of human stories

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Dispensing his thoughts on the Indian diaspora, Tagore had once commented: “To study a Banyan tree, you not only must know its main stem in its own soil, but also must trace the growth of its greatness in the further soil, for then you can know the true nature of its vitality.” Bearing fruition from these golden utterances to a theatrical stage, the journey has indeed been a fascinating one! Ask the playactors and performing artistes of a production company which staged the spectacular piece, In the

Further Soil, with equal passion and panache. A captivating weave of human stories from the urban landscapes of India and the UK, this highly colourful and aesthetically designed musical has been narrated through dance, songs and the spoken word.
An engrossing cultural spectacle, In the Further Soil explores the emergence of contemporary British Asian dance and music forms in the UK in relation to their traditional roots planted in India. This initiative has been developed through a collaboration of international artists from both UK and India, through a period of experimentation, skills sharing and artistic expeditions. Recently, In the Further Soil was showcased at the auditorium of ICCR in Kolkata.
Presented by the British Council (BCL) and Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) in association with Sampad and the Teamwork Productions of India, In the Further Soil is actually a new dance and music theatre production touring cities in India and the UK this October 2010. It spins a yarn of sagas around humans that bring out the fast-changing globalised identities of young people told emotionally through the interplay of music, dance and dialogues. The show is inspired by the literary texts and doggerels of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore and employs his songs and verses from time to time within the narrative.
Co-produced by Piali Ray, director of Birmingham-based South Asian arts organisation called Sampad, written by Satinder Kaur Chohan and Janice Connolly, this musically-moored overture has been helmed by the theatre actor and filmmaker of international repute, Harmage Singh Kalirai.
“Tagore’s writings and poetic compositions have always been a key source of inspiration in my life. His dance dramas not only entertain the spectators but also embody meaningful messages. Interlaced with philosophical tenets, the lyrical words exercise an empowering effect upon the minds and uplift one’s sulking mood. Titles like Shaapmochan, Mayar Khela, Shyama, Chandalika, Chitrangada, et al are unique in their underlying essence and presentation,” shares Piyali Ray, director of Sampad, a leading agency for the development of South Asian Arts, based in Birmingham. Ray founded Sampad in 1990 at a time when the provision of South Asian Arts was ad hoc and ignored by the main funding stream. She floated the body to rally the support of artists, educators, administrators and funders with a primary motive to provide those working in a multicultural British set-up with that much-needed support mechanism, and to boost them with enough confidence, status and a context for the considerable heritage they had so far been carrying alongwith them from their native territories.
“To cut to the chase, it’s still a continuous fight to grope for our own indigenous identity in a foreign, alien land. Our main purpose invariably remains to retrace our displaced roots and to build upon that ethnic cultural ethos. Be it dance, drama or art, we always try and preen our desi flavours via every creative path that we come across through our journey. But we consciously strive not to be outrightly exotic in our repertoire. However, having said that, the westerners are now waking up to a new emerging superpower which is real and not a myth. A more enlightened, educated and thoughtful India, it is now often being described as the land of Om that is both spiritual and salvaging at heart. It instils solace and soothes one’s frayed nerves. It offers a sense of repose in a strife-torn second-to-second world,” director Harmage Kalirai sets the record straight. “We are unapologetically what we are, no matter the frail veil of mystery and mysticism still being associated with the idea of an Incredible India. It’s time for the rest of the world to shed all stereotypes surrounding our nation and embrace a hugely transformed India. As a troupe, we frankly don’t have the means to flaunt a fat budget of either West End theatre’s musical Bombay Dreams or the Australian stage-production Merchants of Bollywood, written and directed by Toby Gough,” he further expounds.
For those in the music loop, a mishmash of stringed, sonorous as well as percussive instruments varying from saxophone, guitar to djembe, has been used in In the Further Soil. The sound goes live on stage with musical renditions, song performances, stylised speeches and poetic chants dominating the sequences. From everlasting Tagorean odes, distinguished poet, writer and Bengali translator William Radice interpreted verses, kirtan (devotional songs), romantic ghazal, elocution of Shakespeare’s and Keatsian poems to jiving to loud tempo and pulsating beats, the musical has it all to engage the die-hard buffs of this genre. In the dance section, Spanish, African, jazz, samba have been incorporated with traditional classical Bharatnatyam taalas and mudras.
A bevy of talented artistes with four from the UK and three from Kolkata has been imported in to put up this magnificent show. After lodging their inaugural show at Kolkata, the troupe will be halting at the capital (Delhi) for a performance followed with twin shows in Mumbai before taking on their overseas trip to England wherein a bulk of eight shows will be waiting in the queue.
The company will trip around in Birmingham, London, New Castle and elsewhere, holding their frequently scheduled shows. Divided into several acts and scenes, the venue remains a static picture, drawing up a slew of images from some anonymous railway station which is symbolic of life. After all, life is a course of travel in itself. The passengers, paupers, vendors, sweepers, musicians, bystanders scurry past the train standing along the platform only to reach to their pre-fixed destinations on time.