Bharatnatyam performance on pre-historic times

The untold story of rock shelters that were discovered accidently, that narrates the tales of prehistoric times, the mammoth like caves Bhimbetka was told through splendid dance drama performance. A Bharatnatyam performance was held at Ravindra Bhavan auditorium on Tuesday.

Vihaan Drama Works and Pratibhalaya Natya Academy organised the two-day art festival 'Aaroh-5' which concluded here on Tuesday. Through the sensuous and spontaneous Bharatnatyam dance moves, the classical dancers of Pratibhalaya Dance Academy showcased the tale of the 30,000 years old Bhimbetka Rock Shelters. The dance drama was written by Sudip Sohni and was choreographed and conceptualized by Manju Mani Hathwalne. All through the drama the artists managed to maintain the interest of the audience. The light design played yet another vital role in making the performance a flawless one. There are so many stories related to the Bhimbetka caves, from religious point of view to archeological point of view. Bhimbetka is a huge archaeological treasure, which boosts of ancient paintings. More than 600 rock shelters, belonging to the Neolithic age were recently discovered in the rocky terrain of the Vindhyan range. The paintings of the caves show that the same canvas was used by the different people at different times.   The themes used in these caves include the scenes from the everyday life, depicting household scenes, haunting, dancing, animal fighting, elephant riders, honey collections, body tattooing, music. In some of the caves also have images of some of the animals such as bison's, tigers, wild boar, lions, crocodiles, lizards, dogs and antelope.

These stories were brilliantly told by the Bharatnatyam dancers making it one of its kinds performance. The audience enjoyed virtuosity of the dancers and the tenderness in music was reflected in the complex footwork and captivating poses during the performance. The costumes, make-up and presentation of the performers left the audiences spell-bounded. The performances were delightful mosaic of movements, whose geometry, lines and format were near perfect.