Say her name: 21st century gaze at Sita gives voice to the voiceless
A review of Anita Ratnam’s ‘A Million Sitas’ by Sanam Sitaram
Anita Ratnam, on view at the Sneddon Theatre as part of the JOMBA! Contemporary Dance Experience, exudes power and grace in “A Million Sitas”. I feel a sense of nostalgia for a history I have not experienced as she embodies the idea of the divine storyteller, speaking on behalf of the voiceless. It feels as if we have all been invited to enter the temple, or to sit around the fire and listen.
The work is deeply honest, heartfelt and at times, it even makes us laugh. It feels deeply traditional (perhaps more so to the South African eye), while utilizing various contemporary and classical elements. Ratnam’s Neo Bharatam style is a fascinating new theatrical/dance language. The Bharatanatyam elements in her dance movements are, to me, the most recognizable. She weaves together speech and movement to create a seamless tapestry of past and present, bringing Sita’s story to light. Hers is a perspective often hidden from view in the Ramayana, the Hindu epic which celebrates the victory of the God-King Rama against his wife’s captor, Ravana.
Although grand, Sita’s story is one that feels all too familiar, and her voice is one that rings true across time and cultures. Hers is the story of the victim blamed for her fate, and the wise, compassionate woman subdued into silence under patriarchal rule. Ratnam does not make use of limp suggestions about possible interpretations as she tells it like it is, referring to Sita as being “suspected and accused,” among other truths. Ratnam’s use of language is both poetic and direct, and sometimes even conversational in its performativity.
It is also comforting. In this performance, Ratnam makes it very clear that she is questioning and subverting the deification of female suffering — which was once one of the highest forms of nobility and worth.
Ratnam is accompanied by the incredibly talented vocalist Saranya Krishnan, whose voice leads the audience on a journey that is both visceral and spiritual. Singing in the lilting Carnatic style of southern India, she helps to tie the story more firmly to its ancient roots, even as Ratnam carries Sita into the 21st century. The lighting design is subtly enchanting and greatly enhances the performance’s sense of time and place. As the performance drew to a close, Ratnam seems to invoke the Goddess herself, becoming a magnificent shadow against light, as we hear the powerful chanting of a multitude of womens’ names. We are reminded once again that we all are a million Sitas, and carry different versions of her story within us all.
“A Million Sitas” at the JOMBA! Contemporary Dance Experience concludes tonight at 19:30 in the Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre.
