Fluid Stones – A Research Based Documentation of the Feminine Motif in Sculpture and its Interpretation Through Odissi Dance

Fluid Stones is an on-going research and documentation project that is being supported by the Interglobe Foundation. It focuses on the way a woman has been represented in the sculptural traditions of India. Carved in stone, they become a fluid narrative of a life lived centuries ago. They also illuminate a shared source of knowledge, underlying our visual and performing art traditions that explored the limitless possibilities inherent in the human body to be the perfect medium of divine expression.

The project documents and celebrate the depiction of feminine figures in the historical sculptural motifs of India -Yakshis, Shaalabhanjikas and Alasakanyas that represent a woman who was liberated, accomplished, confident and the one that proudly proclaims her own femininity. As part of the project, photo documentation of selected sculptures to create visual content that connects these to dance movements from Odissi was done.

Commemorating the International Women’s Day 2020, the first event based on the theme ‘Interpreting the Feminine in Sculpture through Odissi, a tradition in Dance’ was organized at Sunder Nursery Amphitheatre, Delhi on 5th March 2020. The performance highlighted these parallels and brought alive their story that in essence doesn’t seem very different from our own.

These motifs are revered across artistic disciplines and are abound in the religious architecture of Buddhism, Jainism and Hinduism. They have, in large numbers occupied spaces in stupas and temples. But with modern times, these culturally and aesthetically rich sculptures are losing their significance. Hence, this project aims to reclaim these representations of Indian women and their relationship with environment and explain it through a living performing tradition using the Odissi dance form. The revival of this immemorial understanding of gender and environment will help rediscover these lost dance forms as well as re-establish a connection of the younger generation with the heritage of our country.

I got the privilege of being a part of this prestigious project through my Guru Ms. Shagun Butani who did the research, concept & choreography for the project. I was extremely excited just by the sound of it and couldn’t wait to start! The process included lots of rigorous training and preparations for the performances and photo/video shoots. To manage the tight schedules along with school and other classes was a task but the experience was definitely worth it.

When I was told I would get to travel and share the stage with such experienced artists who I had so much to learn from I was thrilled. The entire journey of Fluid Stones we have had up until now has been exciting, fulfiling and power packed with great learning and experiences. Every day at rehearsal I learned something new, whether it was about the magic that can be worked on stage or about the ancient texts and sculptures. Being a history student I found all of this very exciting and interesting because I got to see a lot of the sculptures I studied about. I remember being particularly excited to see “The Dancing Girl” in the Delhi Museum.

During this project we also had the opportunity to have a lot of public interaction for the occasion of Women’s Day 2020 which gave me a very good platform to work on my communication skills. The project threw a lot of challenges my way, whether it was being a part of my first shoot and learning how to pose in front of a camera on a boat or having to manage volunteers or simply having to explain our project to people in public places, it was incredible. I remember realising the scale of what I was a part of when I saw our video put up on a huge screen in Cyber Hub (Gurgaon) on Women’s Day 2020 for the world to see.

The journey so far has been exciting, educational, fun and inspiring. It gave me a chance to be part of photoshoots on rocks, boats and forests to dancing in prestigious places like the Allahabad museum’s 90^th anniversary, Governor’s Meet in Mumbai and video/photo shoot inside National Museum, Delhi and Allahabad Museum.