Rasas of Ramayana

Aishwarya Harish, a Bharatanatyam exponent, explores the varied rasas hidden in the tales of the Ramayana in her new presentation: AbhiRamam – The Beautiful One

- Shruti Pandit

Aishwarya Harish has got Bharatanatyam in her genes. She is the fifth generation of classical music performers with a lineage of violinists, singers and dancers in the family. Tutored by her mother since a very young age, Aishwarya grew up dreaming of her own dance stories. Her upcoming performance at NCPA, Mumbai, on December 14 is one such dream come true.

Excerpts from the interview:

Why did you select the Ramayana as the story for your dance drama?

Rama is my Ishta Devata. Even as a child, it was always a majestic image of Rama for me and whether I learnt a song or a verse or a dance piece on Him, it excited me. Recently, as a personal spiritual practice, I had started reading the original Valmiki Ramayana along with its translation. As I read, I realised there was so much more to the story. So many unexplored aspects. So much of rasa in every character. This gave me the idea of exploring it in dance. I had heard that there are so many versions of the Ramayana, and hence started my research. And a plethora of possibilities was thrown open. Though all the versions had the storyline more or less intact, each had a different focus and flavour – for example, if the Valmiki Ramayana looks at Rama as a human par excellence, the Adhyatma Ramayana looked at Him as ultimate God Head, and the Adbhuta Ramayana has a different take on the role of Sita and so on.

What were the parameters you used to select the six stories from the Ramayana?