Naachni: A folk dancer's life through her own eyes

Playwright Bhanu Bharti's new production "Naachni" will trace the effect of political and social upheavals on performing arts since the late 1930s.

The monologue-based-play will be performed at the Indira Gandhi National Open University auditorium July 30.

It will also depict the plight of women folk artists in a male-dominated society.

"It highlights the effects of changing socio-political scenario on performing arts and how being a woman will never be easy in a man's world. These two factors will show the struggle of a woman folk dancer in a society undergoing rapid transition," Bharti told IANS.

Bharatanatyam exponent and actor Sindhu Mishra essays the role of the protagonist "Kisuki Bai" and would don many roles -- daughter, mother and grandmother, among others -- in the one-and-half-hour play. She has put in 30 days with 12 hours each to get into the skin of these characters that depict the strength of a woman.

"There are all kinds of emotions in the characters I showcase. It being a monologue, I am the one who is narrating the plight, pain, happiness, memories and sadness of a woman," Mishra, also the deputy secretary of the Sahitya Kala Parishad, Delhi, said.

"I play an old woman talking to her deceased daughter. She is hallucinating and finds it hard to believe she is alone. This old woman used to impart dance classes to her daughter," she added.

According to Bharti, the play also carries a parallel tale.

"The loss of recognition and livelihood is something that our folk artists have experienced in contemporary times when technology is intruding in all spheres of human life. Through this play, we have tried to trace the life of a woman folk dancer through her own eyes," he explained.