The angst of Draupadi and Lady Macbeth portrayed though Odissi and Kathakali

Draupadi

and

Lady Macbeth

— two historical characters, separated in time and folklore — are being brought together in an experimental production that combines the two classical art forms of

Odissi

and Kathakali. Conceptualised by Bengaluru-based Odissi artiste

Devjani

Sen, Black & White by Odissi Dance Centre Bangalore aims to portray the tragic fates of the two women who fought against patriarchy.

“This project has been with me since 2016, but it got delayed due to various reasons. The idea first came to me when I was doing a project on

Shakespeare

in our daily lives and that’s how the story of Lady Macbeth caught my attention,” begins Devjani, who has been teaching and performing Odissi in the city for the past 15 years.

“I have always wanted to do Draupadi’s story. That’s how I thought of bringing these two women characters together. In both their stories, there are instances with bloodstains involved -- Draupadi with blood in her hair and Lady Macbeth with blood in her hands. I connected those two and that’s where it started. I built the rest from there,” shares Devjani, adding that through the performance, she is aiming to portray the strength of women.


Draupadi may have appeared to be in the shadows, but the entire

Mahabharata

revolved around her. Whereas Lady Macbeth's yearning for inheritance has been mired with controversy and denial of her right. “These two characters were chosen because I’m trying to show that a woman can also have ambitions and she also wants power. Throughout history, and even now, if a woman goes after power, she is considered evil, whereas a man is considered ambitious and brave. Be it mythology, medieval history, set in India or Europe -- women have been treated like this throughout ages, and even now,” shares Devjani, noting that this also is the first time she is bringing these two art forms together.

Featuring eight artistes in total, the show -- that will be staged on April 16, 6.30 pm, at ADA Rangamandira -- will feature her students, who will perform the roles of Shakuni, Yudhishtira, Bheema and

Dushasana

, among others. The music for Odissi has been composed by Ganesh Desai Sadan, and Jyothish Babu for Kathakali.