New Delhi: “Every child deserves to feel the extraordinary joy and privilege that it is to simply be alive,” says Aranyani Bhargav, Bharatanatyam dancer and teacher.
And yet, children have increasingly been victims of conflict around the world, conflicts in which they are “neither the orchestrator nor the perpetrators of violence”, adds Aranyani.
Deeply affected by this dissonance, Aranyani and South African dance scholar Donovan Roebert started the “Indian Dancers for Gazan Children” (IDGC) initiative as a way to mobilise the Indian dance community to come together against the violence against children around the world – Gaza, Ukraine, Sudan or any other conflict zone. They have launched several solidarity events throughout India and the world to raise awareness about and funds for children in Gaza, emphasising their humanitarian rather than political approach to raising awareness.
On August 29, the IDGC organised ‘Insāniyat: An evening of cultural performances’ in Delhi, an event in solidarity with children in a conflict-ridden world. Various performers, including Aranyani, were part of the even.
Diya Vyas performs Kathak.
The evening commenced with Diya Vyas’s Kathak performance, where she presented a ‘Ram Bhajan’, a traditional composition praising the Hindu deity Ram and calling for peace and prosperity. The performance helped remind people of the universal nature of values, such as peace, across religions and cultures.
Saanvi Banerjee does the Odissi.
Saanvi Banerjee performed ‘Rageshree Pallavi’, a graceful and intricate expression of pure dance in Odissi. Through this performance, she hopes that one day the children of Gaza will also be free “to dance. Just dance”, according to Aranyani.
Paromita Dolui and Nimisha Devi perform the Bharatnatyam and Odissi.
Paromita Dolui and Nimisha Devi presented ‘Maitriyam’, a celebration of unity through dance. The elegance of Odissi was showcased in ‘Shankaravaranam Pallavi’, with movements reflecting a flower’s bloom, followed by the dynamic energy of Bharatanatyam in ‘Paras Tillana’, with its brisk tempo and intricate footwork. The presentation concluded with ‘Maitriyam Bhajata’, a serene dance symbolising peace and friendship through the union of two dance forms.
Arnav Ajana and Kimaya Singh do a Spectrum-Based Movement.
Two 15-year-olds, Arnav and Kimaya, told the story of Orpheus and Eurydice from Ovid’s Metamorphosis and traced their journey from the tender moments of their marriage, Orpheus’ agonising temptation to look back and the heart-wrenching finale where love becomes the hero of the story.
Ayana Mukherjee, with Charulata Mukherjee, presented ‘Whispers of the Unseen, Yashoda’s Eternal Lament’, a commentary on the universal pain of loss and the silent cries of children caught in the crosshairs of violence.
Himani Khurana, Ankita Alemona and Vivek Nainwal, with Jasmeet Rekhi and Ratika Bhandari on handpan and vocals, do the Kalaripayattu.
The event continued with ‘Samvit‘, a powerful Kalaripayattu presentation by Himani Khurana, Ankita Alemona, and Vivek Nainwal, accompanied by Jasmeet Rekhi and Ratika Bhandari on handpan and vocals. Through evocative lines like “Holding hope in my arms, I will guard, I will march” and “I surrender for my kids; surrender for the hope you bring,” the performance explored themes of inner strength and surrender.
Reflecting on the idea that the true battle is within us, ‘Samvit’ took the audience on a journey to conquer fear and ego, seeking truth and a shared purpose to create a peaceful society.
Tushti Som at the Kathak.
Tushti Som presented ‘Rudrashtakam‘, a Sanskrit hymn dedicated to the Hindu deity Shiva, known for its spiritual depth and ability to invoke a sense of peace and enlightenment. The Kathak performance aimed to use this hymn as a means to seek spiritual enlightenment and peace for all. The hymn serves as a source of hope and strength, invoking Shiva’s compassion to offer relief, guidance, and support to those enduring pain and adversity.
Nitisha Nanda and Aakriti Gandhi do an experimental routine.
Nitesha Nanda and Akriti Gandhi presented ‘Aikyam’, an evolving experimental piece of art that delved into the tension of duality. ‘Aikyam’ asks – What if we realised that we are all part of a single, shared existence, that everything within and around us is a part of the same whole? Wars, both within ourselves and between us, will cease to exist and we will all be one, it says.
Aranyani Bhargav at the bharatanatyam.
The conflict in Gaza has claimed countless innocent lives, including many children, long before October 7, as far back as the Nakba in 1948. A poignant reminder of this is Faiz Ahmad Faiz’s poem, ‘A Lullaby for a Palestinian Child.’
IDGC’s co-founder Aranyani embodied this poem through movement in ‘Lori’ (lullaby) to try to depict the devastating reality for many Palestinian people right now. The Bharatnatyam performance sought to help children brutalised and orphaned by war make sense of its horrors, offering consolation by suggesting that their lost loved ones are now in a better place of dreams and peace.
Rachna Yadav and her ensemble presented ‘Rise‘, to urge all of us to rise with courage, grit and resilience. Through a Kathak performance, they urged each of us to rise and support those in Palestine who fight for survival against all odds.
Karan Gangani at Kathak.
Karan Gangani presented an electric Kathak performance, ‘Sargam’ – a musical section of Hindustani classical music sung with the musical notes ‘Sa Re Ga Ma’.
Aditi Mangaldas and group (Faraz Ahmed, Ashish Gangani, Anindita Acharjee, Anjana Singh, Deepannita Sarkar, Diksha Tripathi, Gourav Jawda. Harendra Kumar Bhushan, Rachana Yadav, Shubhi Johari, Siddhant Purohit) at the Kathak, with poetry by Sudeep Sen and impromptu installation by Manish Kansara
Aditi Mangaldas and group presented the final performance of the event, ‘Weeping Red’. It was an extempore performance that combined dance, poetry, music, and art. It reflected the horror of targeted violence against children and shattered humanity. The ensemble, featuring Kathak and contemporary dance based on Kathak, was inspired by Sudeep Sen’s poem ‘Gaza’ and Refaat Alareer’s ‘If I Must Die’, while also incorporating an art installation by sculptor Manish Kansara.
Palestinian Ambassador to India, Adnan Abu Al-Hija, congratulating and thanking the artistes.
‘Apathy’
Aranyani discussed with The Wire how her initiative aimed to ignite the inner convictions of artistes against violence towards children in India. She expressed being deeply “rattled” and “shaken” by the widespread “apathy” towards the numerous reports and instances of child abuse resulting from conflicts.
Aranyani emphasised the fundamental injustice of involving children in conflicts: “Wars are supposed to be meant to be fought between armies. They’re not meant to be involving children at such large scales”. She and Donovan focused on Palestinian children due to their dire need and limited global support.
The importance of art
Aranyani talked about how seeing reels and news about killings of children would disturb her soul, making dancing difficult and feeling pointless. While art can be for entertainment, an artiste has the responsibility to make a statement – such as the one that she felt compelled to make. Aranyani talked about how any dance form can be used in “expressing pain and conflict and loss and devastation, if the person who is the carrier of that art form is sensitive enough to do it”. The rich variety of techniques and technical ‘Nritta’, as well as the wealth of ‘Abhinaya’, meaning the stories and emotions capable through different Indian dance forms all enable performers to express the solidarity with children as well as their opposition to violence, she highlighted.
Aditi Mangaldas of the Aditi Mangaldas Dance Company and the Drishtikon Dance Foundation mentioned the how artistes need to “breathe in the now”, which has increasingly become a bleak reality. As a Kathak practitioner, she describes her role as a ‘Kathakar‘, or storyteller, conveying tales of the present and reflecting reality. In her words, Kathak is and must be “a living art form. It’s not dead in a museum and stories change. That’s the only thing permanent in our lives is change. So, if we don’t look at that change, then we are not really true artists”.
Malvika Saini described how wars in which children are targets are not “just wars” but are about making “statements”. Roshni Soni, who danced with her, added how through their performance, they wanted to be able to convey the emotions of those in suffering to the viewers to be make them ‘rise’.
For Nikhil Bohra, Bharatanatyam and Odissi dancer, the performing arts are not just about entertainment but about enlightenment, and therefore an important way to open people’s eyes to the injustices faced.
