Dear Community members and friends of Auroville,
As the Adishakti Theater festival is fast approaching, here are some more updates.
Unfortunately due to an actor’s injury, the play “Bali” has been cancelled. The dates of the 4 remaining shows have also changed slightly. The festival will now take place between the 25th and the 28th of March 2022.
Here are the plays and the dates :
25th March – Bhoomi
26th March – Brhannala
27th March – Nidravatwam
28th March – Impressions of Bhima
The fundraising efforts have been pretty successful. Donations have come in from Aurovilians as well as friends of Auroville. Bharat Nivas has agreed to cover the cost of publicity, extra wages and transport for artists. All this is very encouraging and I express my deep gratitude to the donors for their generosity and support.
As of today, 28th February, for the 4 days festival we only need Rs. 10.000 more.
I therefore continue to appeal to the community to cover this amount if possible by the 7th of March. The days are flying and there is such a lot to prepare!
I invite you to donate through the Financial Service account “Adishakti Festival / 252778” Thank you.
Below I share with you an excerpt of a press review by The Hindu dated 19th October 2021, on Adishakti’s latest play – Bhoomi :
“Almost all of Adishakti’s plays have dealt with contemporary issues, despite their being based on stories and characters from the epics. Bhoomi, the story of Araja, daughter of Shukracharya (characters from the Ramayana) takes on the challenge of speaking up for the victim of sexual violence in a dialogue between two actors, women in the real world, who stand at different points in their personal journeys. It is at this point that Bhoomi comes into its own, entering strongly into the space that Veenapani Chawla created and wished her actors to occupy and vocalise in their own ways.
The tension created is palpable, and the web closes in, drawing the audience tighter into its grasp, as the actors’ body language and stances change, and layers of self-deception and imposed silence that conceal acts of violence from coming into the open, are revealed.”
Joy (event coordinator)
