SAREE KA GUNIJAN KHANA
The adda of the Saree Enthusiasts
Saree ka Gunijan Khana, the theoretical and performance component of Red Earth’s The Saree Festival hopes to bring together various voices and ideas around the Saree, in a multidisciplinary approach to celebrate the wondrous swirl of the Saree.
Wed 13 – Thurs 14 April 2016
Alliance Francaise De Delhi, 72 Lodhi Estate, New Delhi 03
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PROGRAMME
Wednesday 13 April 2016 / 6.30 pm – 9 pm : Performances
Auditorium, Alliance Francaise De Delhi, 72 Lodhi Estate, New Delhi 03
Get your free invite by purchasing a copy of the Saree Festival 2016 Ltd. Ed. poster priced at INR 500.
6.30 pm – 7.30 pm: Lady Anandi: A performance by Anuja Ghosalkar
Lady Anandi is the story of F, an actor-writer who is haunted by the ghost of her maternal great grandfather— a female impersonator in regional Indian Theatre in the late 1800s. When she finally encounters him, he is dressed as a woman, in a blood red, silk saree, essaying the role of Lady Anandi — a controversial 18th century Indian historical figure. F tries to imagine her great grand father’s life, playing women’s parts in the theatre by looking at his photos, and trying to re-enact characters he essayed. This leads F to question some of the characters she is made to play in current times.
The performance is based on extensive research and, exploring a personal archive, brings together elements like performance, history, early photography and gender. It is a quirky, absurd and historical look at how to act like a lady in a man’s world. It is a documentary theatre piece and is being showcased as a work in progress.
Anuja Ghosalkar is a theatre actor, writer and director based in Bangalore. Drama Queen, her theatre company, is evolving a unique form of documentary theatre in India. Anuja has worked with leading theatre directors. She is also involved in theatre education and in Experimenta, a festival of moving image art in India. In the past, Anuja has worked as a programme officer at India Foundation for the Arts. Recently she was an artist-in-residence at Art Lab Gnesta, Sweden where she wrote Lady Anandi.
8 pm – 8.15 pm: Film: The Amorous Adventures of Shakku and Megha in the Valley of Consent (dir: Paromita Vohra)
8 mins, Marathi with English subtitles, dir: Paromita Vohra
Starring Shakuntala Nagarkar, Megha Gadge, Gaurav Gera. Lyrics and choreography by Bhushan Korgaonkar and Savitri Medhatul.
Meet Megha and Shaku bai, two Lavani dancers extraordinaire, who are wondering why men don’t understand the meaning of consent. As we follow their amorous adventures, they take us through the intricacies of yes, no and maybe and how to sense the point of consent, in a unique music video. A Marathi lavani, mixed up with a little English.
Paromita Vohra is a Mumbai based film-maker and writer. Read more on her work at www.parodevipictures.com
Bhushan Korgaonkar is a writer and theatre person working with Lavani. Savitri Medhatul is a Mumbai based film-maker. Savitri and Bhushan are collaborators in the Lavani based theatre show Sangeet Bari.
8.15 pm – 9 pm: Saree Sutra: Exploring the Saree through Dance by Rasa Theory
Saree Sutra presents a collage of pieces centred around the saree. Through movement, the dancers emulate the flow of the drape, alluding to the weaving process, capturing the dynamism and versatility of the saree in this special choreography. In addition, stories from Hindu mythology featuring the motif of the Saree are expressively enacted by the dancers, thus making the choreography a combination of narrative, pure dance and abhinaya.
Rāsa Theory is a newly born classical dance collective led by kathak exponent Mrinalini (disciple of Shovana Narayan) and Kuchipudi exponent Ranjini Nair (disciple of Jayarama Rao & Vanashree Rao), that aims to bring classical dance into unconventional and hitherto unexplored spaces.
Thursday 14 April 2016 / 11 am to 1 pm: Saree Styling Workshop
Gallery, Alliance Francaise De Delhi, 72 Lodhi Estate, New Delhi 03
Fees INR 2000/ pax.
11 am to 1 pm: Saree Styling Workshop
Led by Himanshu Verma (curator, Saree Festival), Aditi Prakash (Pure Ghee Designs) & other designers
The Saree styling workshop aims to incite participants to ceaselessly experiment with draping styles, and Saree styling. From traditional Pan-Indian styles to more contemporary Saree accesorisation, discover so much more you can do with the Saree, to make it fun, sexy, and YOU!
The workshop will centre around three main aspects of Saree styling: Draping, Blouse Styling and Accessorisation.
