The poem Fear by Khalil Gibran begins with the line, “It is said that before entering the sea, a river trembles with fear.“ This journey of the river and its emotions expressed in the poem inspired Shobana Balachandra to conceptualise and choreograph ‘Aham Pravahini‘ at Kalakshetra, Chennai. While Preeti Anand co-produced the show, the musical soundscape was conceived and scored by Embar Kannan.

The presentation opened with the journey of a river flowing from the mountains. This was depicted through the out-streched hands of two dancers. Then a group of eight became the river, tracing its passage through various terrains, reflecting the cultural practices it nourishes during its course. The popular Bengali song , ‘Ekla chalo re’ not only established the landscape of Kolkata but also the river’s solitary journey. Familiar scenes such as the Ganga arathi with lit lamps lining the ghats at Benares and folk dances of celebrating a bountiful harvest were woven into narrative.

The dance progressed showing the river’s travails through changing seasons. The vigour that its displays during this travel turns into fear when it is time for the river to merge with the ocean.

The dancers draped in blue costumes conveyed these ideas through diverse movements. However, repetitive formations, with limited exploration of group dynamic, lent a sense of monotony. The choreography would have been more effective had it moved beyond routine depiction of riverside activities to delve into the river’s emotions at different stages. This would have conveyed better the core theme of fear.

Given the rich possibilities that Bharatanatyam offers to showcase ideas through gestures, it would have been effective to rely on these aspects of natya rather than on props.

Embar Kannan’s musical score captured well the mood of the sequences through appropriate ragas. Guru Bharadhwaj’s rhythmic syllables evoked the fall of raindrops, enhancing the impact of the scene. Lighting design was by Charles.

Aham Pravahini is an engaging concept that would benefit from greater intensity in its expression to make it stand apart.