Anurekha Ghosh: A celebration of hope and existence

It?s a dance performance that explores the various aspects of the term ?ruins?. And what better place to stage it than at a mid-19th Century mansion of old Calcutta, now lying in ruins?

Sutanuti Parishad, the body with an aim to preserving the heritage of Calcutta ? and more famously known for the annual Sutanuti Utsab ? is trying to do just that with Anurekha Ghosh?s Ruins, in the thakurdalan of the Bagbazar residence of Pashupati Bose.

Anurekha, a Calcuttan settled in Birmingham, has toured the world with her dance company since 2001. Her latest production, Ruins, is a ?celebration of hope and existence? and explores the ?struggles of the familiar into the unknown?.

?It is a multi-disciplinary production, combining dance (classical and contemporary Kathak), music, digital projection and interactive sets,? says Anurekha.

?The house in the Bagbazar area, where Ruins is being staged on January 20, was lived in by Pashupati Bose and Nandalal Bose. It is in ruins now and needs renovation, but also provides the perfect setting for the dance drama,? offers Gopinath Ghosh, joint secretary of Sutanuti Parishad.

Conceptualised by Anurekha ? a University of London graduate in mathematics and computer science ? the four-part production has received inputs from four choreographers, including Kumudini Lakhia and Shobana Jeyasingh.

Spring 2005 saw Ruins being performed in the US, while there are plans to take it to the UK and Europe later this year. But it?s the first time that Anurekha is performing in her hometown.

?Funds had been a problem. Thanks to an Art Council of England grant, we are able to perform in Calcutta, Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bhopal and Ahmedabad,? she says.

Finding the right spot to stage Ruins took some time, and included a visit to the Sovabazar Rajbati natmandir. ?But the sad and melancholy air of the Bose house appealed to me. It also seemed as if the ruins were waiting for time to decide what will happen to them,? Anurekha adds.

The house is also historically important. ?The procession to mark the rakhi bandhan utsab during the 1905 Partition, led by Rabindranath Tagore, ended at this house,? explains Sutanuti Parishad?s Ghosh.