Regional Headline :

Wild women, wise women

Arundhathi Subramaniam and Chitra Srikrishna will present a jugalbandi of performance poetry

and musical rendering to celebrate the plurality of spiritual temperaments

Ranjani Govind

hy do we

hear so lit tle

about women mystic poets? For poet Arundhathi Subramaniam and Carnatic vocalist Chitra Srikrishna, this quest led them to discovering women mystics and their works; the duo will present their learnings as a jugalbandi at the Indian Music Experience in Ben galuru on June 16. In a bid at creative experimentation, wild

Women - A jugalbandi will be based on Arundhathi’s latest book, an anthology of sacred Indian poetry titled Wild Women: Seekers, Protagonists and Goddesses in Sacred Indian Poetry while Chitra will present a few verses in melody.

“The idea for a jugalbandi with poet Arundhathi came about

through our mutual passion for Bhakti poetry. I had invited her as a guest speaker when I was handling a music appreciation

course at the

Ahmedabad University, where I delved into the roots of the Bhakti movement, the works of the mystic poets and their social impact. Arundhathi shared her insights of the Bhakti mystics and their poetry. During the pandemic, we began discussing a collaboration inspired by our shared love for this poetic tradition,” says Chitra.

For Chitra, this jugalbandi is a natural corollary to the success of her previous musical production, Bhakti - A Musical Journey

with Mystics, presented at local and global platforms. “Our aim with this unique collaboration is to blend Arundhathi’s insights on Bhakti poetry with my

musical interpretation, creating a new experience that delves deeper into the essence of mysticism and music with an emphasis on sacred feminine outpourings, based on her book,” she says.

Did the two choose verses to suit raga and tala? “This program is a creative dialogue, where Arundhathi will present a poem

and I will follow it with a musical interpretation, with Deepikaa Sreenivasan on the mridanga. Some of the selected poems have been previously set to music by renowned musicians such as Pt. Kumar Gandharva and Lata Mangeshkar, while others, such as the Kashmiri verses by Lal Ded or Rupa Bhavani, I have newly set to music,” says Chitra. Understanding

the deep-rooted significance ingrained in the poetic verses was fundamental to Chitra in order to

v

Not for the faint of heart Arundhathi Subramaniam spoke to Metroplus on her recent book where the mystery of female mystics unfold: Tell us a little about Wild Women... As a poet and seeker, I've had a long-standing fascination with sacred literature in this subcontinent. Wild Women, was fueled by my curiosity about the female mystic poets of this land. As | started my research, | found myself fascinated by the innumerable audacious women in this subcontinent — so many unmapped, and undocumented. This unfolded into an archive of women sacred poets of this continent — a reminder of some astonishingly feisty, irreverent sacred ancestors who deserve to be much better known. Would you say the book is a must read for anyone exploring the Bhakti movement? This is not merely an anthology of Bhakti poets. This is an anthology of women of varied spiritual persuasions. There are early

Buddbhist nuns, tantrikas, bhaktas, Vedantins, Sufis — the whole gamut. Some are contemplative, some devotional, others are intellectual, and still others deeply emotional.

Could you tell us about a few of them?

Although the women in these pages are seekers and mystics, their poems are not merely about the ecstasy of moksha. These poems are also about subversion and social critique. The slave girl, Punnika, empowered by the Buddha’s teaching of equality, asked pertinent questions about caste inequality and ended up converting a ritualistic Brahmin. This happened 2,500 years ago! Soyarabai, the 14th century Dalit woman mystic from Maharashtra, wrote a poem in which she asks why menstruation is considered impure when itis the very basis of human life. The later Tamil Brahmin child widow, Avudai Akkal, questioned notions of ritual impurity. These are not docile women by any means. These are wild and wise women.

Everyday goddesses (From left) Arundhathi Subramaniam, Chitra Srikrishna and Deepikaa Sreenivasan. SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

score the right raga and cadence. “The selection of poems was a collaborative process; I approached the selection from a musical perspective and considered its appeal to a diverse audience. The poems to be sung in this jugalbandi span various languages, including Tamil, Kannada, Hindi, Sanskrit, Marathi, and Kashmiri.”

While engaging with the poems of Arundathi’s book, Chitra says she realised how little she knew about Bhakti poetry. “The poets were unfamiliar, the vernacular poetry in its original form was diverse, as were the nuances of poetry appreciation including rhyme and alliteration.”

The book celebrates the divine feminine by showcasing the poetic expressions from lesser known gems such as 14% century Kashmiri Lalleshwari (also known as Lal Ded) and the Tamil pet Avudai Akkal, to well-known figures such as Andal and Meera.

“Translation plays a crucial role in unlocking the beauty of vernacular poetry, allowing us to appreciate the lyrical elegance and the profound insights of these poets,” says Chitra.

Wild Women - A Jugalbandi will take place at the Indian Music Experience on June 16 from 6-7pm