The Mughal Era in India is noted for its promotion and enhancement of Indian classical music and dance.
‘Taj Mahal: A Dance Drama,’ staged at ASB Theatre at Aotea Centre in Auckland city on March 31 went a step further and cleverly infused belly dancing as well as a Western contemporary dance, making it a truly ‘international’ event.
‘Taj Mahal’ was a passion for Aiswarya Entertainments Limited and its directors Dr Rita Sasidharan and Sasi Nambissan, who conceptualised it three years ago and put together talent and supplies from various parts of India.
Promoted as a ‘show of a lifetime with a chapter from one of the most colourful pages of Indian history, ‘Taj Mahal’ lived up to its claims. The organisers rose to the challenge of managing more than 180 people including lyricists, recording artists, actors, performers, technicians, specialists, marketing and administrative personnel, with a hassle-and hitch-free show that began and concluded on time.
This event deserves credit for bringing together people crossing culture, language and ethnic barriers and blending exceptionally well within the essence of the theme and script.
Staging nationwide
Speaking at the event, Wenceslaus Anthony, Chairman of the WAML Group and Chairperson of the Divine Retreat Movement said that the Dance Drama brought to the fore a magnificent chapter of Indian history, which must be shared by all New Zealanders.
“At a time when there is abiding interest in understanding the unique aspects of India’s rich cultural heritage and traditions, stage performances such as Taj Mahal should be seen and appreciated by all New Zealanders. Clubs, associations and event organisers in other parts of the country, especially Hamilton, Tauranga, Rotorua and Wellington must consider staging this show in their City,” he said (Read related story under Communitylink).
Emotional cavalcade
Natasha Trilokekar and Siddharth Krishnamoorthy (respectively as Mumtaz and Shah Jahan) lived up to the expectations of their characters and portrayed their emotions well. Mumtaz’s innocence and serene nature was well suited to Natasha’s personality and expressive face. Siddharth too did equal justice to the lead role and showcased Shah Jahan in two contrasting ways; first as a brave warrior and as an emotional human when he famously fell in love with Mumtaz.
However, it was the groups of dancers who stole the show with their various classical, folk and Indian film dance-inspired style, since they were the ones who set the atmosphere at each scene as the story unfolded, thus forming the backbone of the drama.
Special effects
The ‘Garagewallas’ did a splendid job in miming the construction of Taj Mahal, showing the pain, strain and more importantly, teamwork to convince the audience of what the original builders of the real edifice in Agra would have gone through during construction more than 500 years ago.
While the drama was unique in many ways, a lack of physical props on stage made it slightly hard to transport the audience entirely to the Mughal period. Although computer animation was present in the background, a few simple props would also have been appropriate, especially in the court scene where the Emperor was left standing as the dancers performed.
Among the highlights of this mammoth production was the involvement of Hyderabad based Nrityanjali Academy President and Director Narsing Rao and graphic designer and animation artist Shameer Shah from Calicut, Kerala. Both were in New Zealand as guests of Aiswarya Entertainments.
Taj Mahal also had the expertise of directors and principals of local dance schools who choreographed various dance sequences. Among them were Anuradha Ramkumar (Anuradha School of Indian Classical Dance), Kalaiselvi Uthayakumaran (Narthana Alayam School of Indian Dance), Ramya and Vatsala Ramachandran (Howick), Rahul Chopra (Garagewallas) and Shweta Divekar (Arabsque School of Oriental Dance).
