Fiji-Indian dancer Raina Peterson explores Andal’s devotional poem for Narasimha avatar

Jodhpur, October 28

Starting with slow fluidic movements from behind the columns at Chokelao Bagh, at the foot of the Mehrangarh Fort here, Fiji-Indian-English dancer Raina Peterson gingerly pulled in the audience to express the devotion and love of ninth century Tamil poet Andal towards the Narsimha avatar of Lord Vishnu.

The Australia-based dancer was in the city on Friday to perform at the ongoing Jodhpur RIFF music festival, along with their friend and musician Mark Cher-Gibard on a ‘prepared guitar’.

The Mohiniyattam dancer’s performance was based on Andal’s poem ‘The Song to the Dark Rain Clouds’, translated by Archana Venkatesan, in which she admonishes the ‘Man-Lion’ avatar to bring back her bangles.

“O great clouds, rising into the sky. Climb high, rain hard on Venkatam, and scatter the flowers brimming with honey. Ask the one who tore the body of Hiranya, with long nails flecked with blood, to return the conch bangles he has taken from me.”

Using their background in Kathakali, Peterson created an experimental Mohiniyattam piece that builds upon abhinaya involving not just facial and hand gestures but movements of the entire body to portray the intensity of the violent death of Hiranyakashyap at the hands of Narasimha.

“I was struck by that (verse) because Narasimha is this fierce protector deity whose main story involves active extreme violence and very striking violent imagery. Her coquettish appeal to Narasimha was striking and beautiful to me,” the dancer told PTI.

Peterson draws on their training in classical Indian dance to create a work which oscillates between the violence of Narasimha’s imagery and the sensuality of Andal’s poetry.

“I really loved in this particular verse, this intensity and this hint of violence when she is describing the looming rain cloud and scattering the flowers with honey, there is this threat of violence among all this beauty. And there is Narasimha, claws flecked with blood, but the sensuality and violence which is woven throughout this verse is really just very delicious and beautiful to me,” they said.

Musician Cher-Gibard created an unconventional, cosmic soundscape on a ‘prepared guitar’, using the bow of a violin and screwdriver among other items, to accompany the performance.

“Marco’s prepared guitar provided the perfect score for Andal’s poetry because it has this deep beauty but also this violence which can come out so easily. I love the striking imagery of Andal’s poetry and was playing with the imagery of the poem and with the intensity of Andal’s feelings. That came together through improvisation sessions with Marco,” the 38-year-old dancer said.

The four-day music festival is showcasing Indian and global roots music, dance, and collaborations between artists. The event will come to an end on October 30.