What did people do during the pandemic lockdown? Singers baked. Bakers stitched. Designers cooked. Some chefs started sending food to COVID patients. We revamped our blog and gave it a new look. As we recently witnessed, creators created.

Padma Shri Geeta Chandran, the noted Bharatnatyam exponent, recently shared her pandemic positive story, not in words, but through the language of Bharatnatyam at the Stein Auditorium, India Habitat Centre. We have always had huge admiration for her work. Moreover, we were happy to attend a live dance program and go back to Habitat after a separation of 2 years. We just had to be there.

Chandran presented a bouquet of 5 pieces – In Search of Infinity; perhaps her internal journey throughout the pandemic period. It was a mixture of some numbers choreographed earlier and some new pieces created during the pandemic period. After all, Chandran did not have it easy too. First, there was the frustration of being away from interacting with her students and taking classes at her dance school Natyavriksha. Second, Chandran and her family suffered COVID, not once but twice.

Chandran bounced back perhaps with a stronger will to not be defeated. She would conduct online classes and continue her own practice through digital sessions. Whenever the lockdown was eased, she would rehearse with her accompanying vocalist the very talented K. Venkateswaran and create new pieces she presented that evening. In Search of Infinity was Chandran’s story of resilience. And a packed audience was waiting to know it.

One of the pieces that best expressed her sentiments was based on the number “Beeti Vibhavari Jaag Ri”, a poetry by Jaishankar Prasad. Crudely translated, it meant that the night is over and the hopes of new dawn await us. That positive sentiment is what we are all holding on to for getting over the dark days of the pandemic when life, world over, came to a standstill.

Another piece that tugged at our heart string was based on Chandran’s interaction with her little grandson Akshar during the lockdown period. In order to entertain Akshar, she would spin yarns and tell him stories of our great myths. Her bid to engage the little boy inspired one of the pieces where Yashoda was singing a lullaby about Ram to put baby Krishna to sleep. Looking at Chadran in this act, all we could see was how an exasperated mother was trying to put her super-energetic child to bed. The bonus in piece was that the beginning lines of the lullaby “Suni Sut Ek Katha Kahu Pyari” was sung live by Chandran whereafter the accompanying vocalist Venkatesh took over. The song started – “Oh dear child, let me tell you a beautiful story”…

Storytelling was Chandran’s strong point. In one of the pieces, and this one was our favourite, Chandran depicted the story of Lord Krishna’s lifting the Govardhan Mountain to save people and animals of Vrindavan from a deluge. In this number, she enacted the reactions of various people when they came to know about Krishna’s feat. Mother Yashoda was surprised, proud and happy, Radha was spellbound, Krishna’s cowherd friends were jealous, the celestial beings showered blessings and Lord Indra, the King of Gods, felt challenged. While the narrator Rajiv Chandran explained the gist before the performance, we would have followed the sequence even without the introduction. Chandran’s daughter Sharanya Chandran accompanied her as the Nattuvangam vocal support in all the pieces.

The last piece was based on a composition by Swami Annamacharya Tirupati Balaji Temple. It called for Sama Drishti or empathy among people who may follow different sets of beliefs.

Chandran’s depiction of Sankirtana of dancing to the chants punctuated many of the pieces. We have seen this signature style in her dance numbers, like a painter’s autograph, many times before as well. This time too, she brought to life the imaginary drums and cymbals she was playing while walking the streets dancing to the name of God. Her Sankirtan stayed with us all the way home. After all, that is what life is every day. Believer or not, all we do is dance to the rhythm of life.

You could be a follower of Indian dance or Jazz could be your poison or you may not be interested in music or dance. Yet, you should see Geeta Chandran perform on stage whenever you get an opportunity. If for nothing else, the sheer power on stage, achieved through years of dedicated practice, or sadhana, is inspiring.