Commemorating the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Singapore and India, Singapore’s Consulate-General in Chennai presented Ramayana: Celebrating the Shared Heritage of Singapore and India on Aug 8 and 9 at Kalakshetra.
The cross-cultural dance-theatre production was conceptualised by Aravinth Kumaraswamy, Cultural Medallion-winning artistic director of Singapore’s Apsaras Dance Company, in collaboration with fellow Cultural Medallion recipient Osman Abdul Hamid, artistic director of Era Dance Theatre Singapore.
Bringing together dancers from both countries, the production featured celebrated Indian artiste Urmila Sathyanarayanan as Sita. It premiered on Aug 8 with Tamil Nadu’s Minister for Information Technology and Digital Services Palanivel Thiaga Rajan as guest of honour, alongside senior diplomats including S. Vijayakumar. The Aug 9 public show played to a full house.
Singapore’s Consul-General Edgar Pang said the collaboration “celebrates the close cultural and people-to-people ties between Singapore and India”, while Aravinth noted that, as a Singaporean artiste rooted in Indian traditions, he draws deep inspiration from the shared cultural heritage of India and Southeast Asia.
The Ramayana – an ancient Indian epic embraced across Asia – formed the heart of the production, which blended the Indian classical dance form Bharatanatyam with South-east Asian styles.
The staging was supported by a rich musical score from Rajkumar Bharathi (composer) and Sai Shravanam (music director), with choreography contributions from Jayanti Subramaniam (India), Mohanapriyan Thavarajah (Singapore), and Osman (Singapore).
