Mayuri Upadhya says her production traces the essence of devotion
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

History shows that Indian classical music and spirituality go hand-in-hand. While Purandaradasa, Jayadeva and Tulsidas are known for the Bhakti Movement, classical dancers and singers too connect more to their art spiritually. In fact, bhakti is the dominant rasa of most concerts and dance performances. . Classical-contemporary dancer-choreographer Mayuri Upadhya’s new work is no exception. Titled ‘Bhakti – A Shared Longing’, it features verses by Purandaradasa, Akkamahadevi, Kabir, Lal Ded, Tukaram, Andal, Tulsidas, Meerabai, Namdev, Sadasiva Brahmendral, Guru Nanak, Basavanna and Rabindranath Tagore. To be presented by her institution Nritarutya, which she founded in 2000 with her sister Madhrui Upadhya, ‘Bhakti…’ will be premiered in Bengaluru on June 13.

Mayuri describes the production as “a multilingual, multidisciplinary immersive dance-theatre presentation that weaves together the soulful legacies of 13 Indian saints and mystics from across India. The production includes texts, dialogues and different Indian languages.”

She also says that dance, for her, “is more than just movement — it is a language, a way of communicating with the world that transcends the limitations of words.”

10 dancers from across the country bring in their own diveristy and culture to the production
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

One of her most notable works is the broadway musical Mughal-E-Azam, inspired by the film of the same name, which has had 300 shows across the world. Mayuri, a recipient of the Best Original Choreographer Award (2018) by Broadway World for Mughal-e-Azam, returns to the Bengaluru stage with Bhakti… after a 14-year hiatus. She has also worked as the lead choreographer for The Great Indian Musical: Civilization to Nation. This show, now into its third season, will soon premiere at Lincoln Center, New York, shares Mayuri. 

“My last show in Bengaluru was in 2014, which is why I was craving to stage Bhakti… here. It is an exploration of the term ‘Bhakti’ and the spiritual quest of human beings. It is the anchor in today’s time, irrespective of age, gender, and religion,” says Mayuri.

About the works of poets and mystics she has used for her production, Mayuri says: “They are more saints to me than mere poets as I believe they discovered a deeper inner truth that they revealed/shared with humanity. The more I read about them and their works, the more I found similarities in their concepts.”

Minimalism is the tone of Bhakti – A Shared Longing
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

Each piece in Bhakti is centered around one evocative work by each mystic, interpreted by different dancers. The production features 10 dancers belonging to different styles, from across the country.

Explaining the process of bringing the production to life, Mayuri says, “The researchers (Pooja Kaushik and Nandana Gopal) brought different aspects to the table, each with their own versions of stories that correlated well. Post this, was the process of song selection. Next was to add movements to the texts, prose and music”.

As for the creative process, Mayuri, who was joined by Madhuri in choreographing the dance, shares: “The poetry dictated what the movement language should be. For instance, for poetry from Bengal, we drew inspiration from Uday Shankar’s dance style, for Amir Khusro,  we brought in Sufi-Kathak and so on. The dancers coming from different parts of the country lent their own cultural diversity to the production.” 

The production has a contemporary and minimalist approach in every aspect. “This is my simple but powerful response to whatever is happening around us,” says Mayuri.

‘Bhakti – A Shared Longing’ will premiere at Chowdiah Memorial Hall, Bengaluru, on June 13, 7.30 p.m. Tickets on BookMyShow.