Stree shakti, artsy aura

The past year has seen stellar breakthroughs for women and there will be more as Bengaluru will be treated to a festive weekend soon, from November 17 to 19 at Ravindra Kalakshetra, completely curated by women with dance, music, theatre, films and the arts. For the first time, India will be witnessing a festival put on exclusively by women with a large majority of the artistes participating also women.

Sandhya Mendonca who will be helming the festival talks about bringing girl power to the fore. “Essentially, I felt that there are different kinds of festivals that happen but there was nothing where intelligent, contemporary women could get together and express themselves across various disciplines. Ninety-nine percent of the participants here are women,” she says.

With curators like Arundhati Raja for theatre, Madhu Nataraj for dance, MD Pallavi for music and Dr Pramila Lochan for arts, joining hands with several female artistes, the festival will be open to the public. A curtain raiser to the event during the past week saw an incredible audience as theatre artiste, Urvashi Goverdhan presented a bit of her play to a full house.

“It’s so liberating to be among other women artists who have fought their way out of wherever they were forced to be. There is a negative connotation to female artistes as attention seekers but it’s great to see them come forward in such a space,” Urvashi comments.

Bengaluru artist Shan Re sees this festival as an opportunity to celebrate the feminine spirit. She adds, “In my paintings, my women are silent, mysterious, deep and powerful like a frozen fire. This impenetrability and stillness does not mean that nothing is happening below the surface; they are processing emotions all the time, and storing up impressions and experiences which will be used later. They are a reflection of my personality.”

Artists who will be participating at this festival are keen on sharing their perspectives on life as women. Arundhati Raja feels, “This festival is a way to highlight women issues through the arts. It’s not just about the performances but to get a point across. By curating this, we will be able to present our sides as well.”

Madhu Nataraj says, “We keep talking about inclusivity and equality all the time but in most festivals, women’s roles are usually marginal. It was important to reiterate our voices in the public domain. If you want to see quality work, you have to create spaces where it’s not steeped in bureaucracy and politics, and that’s another interesting experience to see artists curate the event themselves.”