It would be reductive to suggest that the achievement of Divya Warrier’s portrayal of the central character in her work-in-progress solo piece, Hidimbi, lies merely in her representation of a radical woman who chose to be a single mother and stood up strongly against patriarchy. The dancer-choreographer does much besides. Sensitively mentored by Odissi exponent, Sharmila Biswas, for this project, Warrier engages the eye, the heart and the mind in equal measures. It is an entrancing work rooted in a woman’s psychology and her identity.
In a departure from Mohiniattam’s definitively feminine-enchantress texture, Warrier’s body language in this work acquires an energy and primal urgency of its own. She wrings out a deep intimate engagement with the character of a woman largely neglected in and demonized by the Mahabharata. As many subversive and individual readings of the epics do, this one too takes the dancer-choreographer on a journey of discovery of re-imagined material, narrative and idiom. Her Hidimba emerges as a fierce mother capable of delicate love for her offspring, a self-assured and honest lover and a strong, opinionated woman of agency. She is charismatically real and not classically remote. She has strong likes and dislikes of her own. She is aggressive and tender all at once. She is simple, substantial and unwavering in her roles as mother and lover. It is to Warrier’s credit that she is Hidimbi throughout.
The eyes become an instrument in itself to give classical definition to the dancer’s expression. Very captivating and deeply resonant storytelling merges with powerful dance technique in a piece that clearly has Warrier step out of her comfort zone to explore new paths of articulation.
The fact that the first presentation of Hidimbi was through online streaming perks up one’s expectation for a live performance. The sense of occasion and the energy of the room would certainly make the movement and expression come alive on stage in a way that the reduced experience of the small screen never can.
