Kali
Concept and Dance: Ghazal Ramzani
Choreography and composition: Pt. Rajendra K. Gangani
Music composition: Shri Samiullah Khan
Tabla: Shri Yogesh Gangani
Sarangi: Shri Ayub Khan
Padhant: Shri Neeraj Parihar
The Kathak solo dance piece "Kali" revives the shadowed mythos of the goddess of time and destruction. Set against the backdrop of classical Kathak, this performance unveils Tandav, Kali's fierce dance of destruction. In the realm of the Kathak stage, Kali remains conspicuously absent, dismissed to cinematic renditions and tales that distort her story and perpetuate stereotypes which misrepresent women’s rage as hysterical, irrational, or selfish. This solo seeks to restore the mythos, rekindling a narrative that recognizes women’s rage as rooted in oppressed positionality and as a source of wisdom, as well as an elemental force of transformation.
She steps out of perfect darkness.
There she stands in front of me, her red eyes wide, her wild black hair flying, tongue out and arms spread. She dances in rage. She dances in euphoria.
There she stands firm, strong and beautiful, wearing nothing but a garland of human heads around her neck and a skirt made of arms, holding a sword, a head and a bow full of blood.
On the devastated battlefield, somewhere at the edge of time, at the end of the world, she stands as the eternal victor of all battles. The bloodied earth under her feet trembling.
Kali the frightful.
Kali the warrior.
Kali the compassionate.
Goddess of Death. Mother of the universe.