Sanchita Abrol is a disciple of venerated Kathak Maestro, Padma Shri Guru Shovana Narayan. In early 2014, Sanchita founded Rasadance, an organisation in Australia building a bond with the centuries-old tradition of storytelling through dance. Sanchita has performed on the international stage, most notably at:
- Ganges-Danube Cultural Festival of India in Hungary 2016,
- Parliament House India 2012
- Indian Youth Delegation Program to China 2011
- Opening Ceremony of the Commonwealth Games, New Delhi 2010
- ICCR (Indian Council for Cultural Relations) Festival of India in Italy 2016
- ICCR (Indian Council for Cultural Relations) Festival of India in Morocco 2016
At the ‘Cultural Cocktail: Youth for Art’ event, The Kathak dance production ‘Ghar, Prem ki Gaagar’, conceptualised by Sanchita Abrol, portrayed the intrinsic nature of love.
“Ghar, Prem Ki Gaagar” conceptualised by Sanchita Abrol was based on the classical Dogri poetry “Ghar” by renowned Dogri poet, writer and Sahitya Akademi Awardee Group Captain Randhir Singh or popularly known as ‘Kunwar Viyogi’ in literary circles.
This performance portrayed the intrinsic nature of love. The physical and emotional aspects have forever been connected and represent the divine law. The spiritual aspect is embodied in the imagery of courage, beautifully powerful, the depth of which forms desire that guides human interaction in love. Eternally present, love never dissipates in humanity that comprehends its intrinsic nature. “The heart always finds its home in love.”
Considering the thoughtful ideas of the poet, the script of this dance drama recapitulated ‘Love’s Philosophy’ a poem by one of the major English romantic poets, Percy Bysshe Shelley, written in 1820.
“The fountains mingle with the river
And the rivers with the Ocean,
The winds of Heaven mix for ever
With a sweet emotion;
Nothing in the world is single;
All things by a law divine
in one spirit meet and mingle.
Why not I with thine?-……”
The role of Sutradhar was performed by Ayushman Jamwal, a senior editor at CNN IBN. He is also the author of ‘Chameleon Lights’, a collection of 20 poems that featured among the top 10 best-selling books of English poetry on Amazon.
“I believe in the eternal nature of love and with this beautiful piece, we invite our spectators to experience the many faces of love. This dance drama is created around the concept that the heart always finds its home in love. My inspiration for ‘Ghar’ arises from many aspects. Most importantly, my guru Padma Shri Shovana Narayan and her conceptualisation of Kathak in diverse literary contexts have greatly influenced my own interaction with literature. When I read the poetry by renowned poet and Sahitya Academy Awardee, Late Group Captain Randhir Singh, I felt like presenting the sweetness of love blossoming in the valley and it’s different shades through my language of Kathak,” Abrol said.
“There is a depth to what he wrote in that book that attracted me to it, and what he wanted to say. The poems have been set to music. The emotional impact of the story of love in the poem is heart-rending. The experience of translating that poem to dance was wonderful.”, She added.
