Tanashah: A youthful death and separation from a lover

As part of a four-day symposium titled Indent: The Body and The Performative, which has been organised by Gati Dance Forum, Sangeet Natak Akademi winner, dancer-choreographer and social activist Navtej Johar will perform a solo piece, Tanashah, based on the jail diaries of Indian freedom fighter Bhagat Singh. 

The performance will be specifically based on Bhagat Singh’s famous essay Why I am an Atheist (Main Nastik Kyun Hu), which was written in 1930 while Singh was in prison at Lahore Central Jail. Singh wrote the essay for his religious friends, explaining his atheism and questioning the existence of God. 
The dance performance will examine the resolve of a young man, who is about to walk to the gallows with searing clarity and is unfettered by religious philosophies.

The title of the piece Tanashah, which literally translates to dictator, represents how Singh was tyrannical when it comes to resistance (against the British). 

“On the one hand, it is inspired by Bhagat Singh’s clarity and fearless stance of resistance, and on the other, it is based on the courage to desire passionately. I guess it has emerged out of my exploration with body, spoken word, and sound (i.e music).

 I love putting Punjab and Tamil Nadu together in my works, and in this performance, I am myself playing with the Punjabi zuban of Bhagat Singh along with Carnatic padam on male desire,” says Johar, whose choreography usually draws from Bharatanatyam, yoga, physical-theatre and somatics.

Since Tanashah will be staged later at this year’s Serendipity Festival in Goa on December 16 and 17, the classical dancer emphasises that the performance in Delhi will be a “showcasing of a work in progress and is nowhere close to the final work.”  Johar has conceptualised and choreographed the piece, which he is set to perform. The sixty-minute piece seeks to explore two main themes: youthful death and separation from a lover. Serendipity Arts Foundation, Defence Colony, 7 pm onwards.