By Willie Gordon Suting
Dance is poetry in motion. And poetry is mostly birthed from pain. “My disabled dancers have gone through a lot of negativity. But dance has healed them and given them a voice! What you have witnessed is therapeutic theatre,” were the words of Syed S. Pasha, artistic director of ‘Ability Unlimited’.
The globally acclaimed dance troupe, which performed at Soso Tham Auditorium recently, proved wrong the common notion that “disability” means failure or inability.
With poetic fluidity of fleeting movements of their wheelchairs and crutches, the dancers showed that they are very much able to deliver a performance similar to non-disabled dancers. The performances were spectacular and magical and left the audience enthralled to their senses.
The event started off with ‘Sufi Dance’. The dancers clad in attire of dervishes, long white skirts flowing over their wheelchairs, began swaying to the music. They spun the wheelchairs in accordance with the heavenly tune of ‘Khwaja Mere Khwaja’, leading gradually to a crescendo in the end. The dancers criss-crossed, circled and zigzagged with aplomb using their wheelchairs.
The second dance item, ‘Joy to the World’, had a dancer as Jesus Christ healing with prayer as he touched with his hands the blind, the crippled and the sick. The performance was another piece of excellence.
Jugalbandi, which literally means “entwined twins”, found reflection in the next presentation of the differently abled artistes. Four artistes in wheelchairs swayed in perfect sync with other Bharatnatyam dancers, gracefully complementing each other’s moves and blending in perfect harmony, much to the awe of the audience.
The Thang Tha, a Manipuri martial arts dance, was performed specially for the audience of Shillong.
Thang Tha involved a long swordfight between two dancers in wheelchairs as they attacked one another with their swords.
The performance was so realistic that the audience was glued to the spectacle as to who would emerge victorious. Later, it was the swordsman who withstood many injuries who won the fight.
The next performance was a retelling of the Bhagavad Gita, where Arjuna is dismayed at the thought of losing his Dharma by fighting his own family and friends at the battle of Kurukshetra. Lord Krishna explains that as a warrior it is Arjuna’s foremost duty to fight this righteous war without expecting results. In this powerful presentation, crutches became the bow and arrow of Arjun and the wheelchair, Lord Krishna’s chariot.
‘Maa Tujhe Salaam’, the last item was a tribute to the nation as the dancers in their colourful costumes showcased the rich cultural diversity of India. The tricolour was flown as a mark of integrity.
According to dancer Manoj Bariak, the performances were “a form of worship” as he says he connects with God. Pasha and his group of dancers have won the Guinness Book of World Records, the Limca Book of World Records and many national awards. They have toured in Europe, America and Asia. Dance, to Pasha, is “the strongest form of meditation”.
“It is a divine experience as it heals the mind, body and soul,” the Guru, who is from Bangalore, said.
Pasha said the 10 dancers in the troupe are from different parts of the country and have been in this profession for the past 30 years.
Ability Unlimited performed for the President in 2013.
Bariak, who is also working as technical director and choreographer, said, “Disability is just a state of mind. I’ve learnt so much with dance as I dig deeper into myself. My Guruji, Dr Pasha, is my God.”
The event, ‘Miracle on Wheels’, was organised by Rotary Club of Orchid City Shillong in association with the All Meghalaya Bonded Warehouse Association.
The performance was in aid of the Happy Schools and the Toilet Blocks for the hygiene of students which are being constructed by the Rotary Club.
(With inputs from Krishna Das Gupta, Director (New Generation) Rotary Club of Orchid City Shillong)
