Govinda, A Tale of Faith by Neetara Nair is a meditative journey of bhakti through performance.
‘Govinda, A Tale of Faith’, a Bharatanatyam recital by Neetara Nair was recently staged at the Classic Arts Learning Centre and hosted by GEMS Modern Academy, Dubai. It unfolded not merely as a dance production, but as a contemplative spiritual journey articulated through movement, music, and silence.
Bhakti in motion
The title of the performance Govinda was selected as the performance was anchored on the 15 th Century saint-composer Tallapakam Annamacharya whose thousands of sankirtanas praising Lord Venkateswara frequently used Govinda to denote the deity’s benevolence and divine grace. Further, they often emphasised on surrender, devotion and spiritual elevation through the chanting of Govinda.
Conceived and choreographed by the UAE-based danseuse Pooja Unni, Govinda emerged as a deeply meditative exploration of bhakti, where choreography transcended performance to become a prayer. Rooted in classical rigour and spiritual sensitivity, the work revealed how faith, when embodied through disciplined movement, transformed art into ardent devotion.
Awakening consciousness
Divided into five segments, the production traces the inner evolution of a seeker through shifting states of consciousness encompassing longing, calling, realization, journey and surrender. Passing through these phases quite philosophically, the seeker finally surrenders presenting divinity as an inner guiding intelligence rather than an external authority.
The sculptural presence of Venkatachalapathi created by artist Santu Brahma of SPANDA, Dubai transformed the stage into a sanctum thereby adding to the spiritual ambience.
The accompaniment musicians contributed considerably to the success of the programme and they included Keertana Vaidyanathan (vocal), Easwaran Ramakrishnan (violin), P K Sivaprasad (mridangam), Sunilkumar (tavil, Ganjira), Mylai Karthikeyan (nadaswaram) and Sruti Sagar (flute). Captivating were the jatis composed by Nattuvanar K S Balakrishnan.
