Negotiating Weight of Now- Path of Reflection

Live Art Tour 9
Curated by Cai Qing

Faculty of Fine Arts Dhaka University

Date – 7th March 2024

Duration – 50 minutes

Photography by Mohammad Israt Abu Toimur  and Keya Sarkar Bindu 

This performance was in response to the history of land and people. The land of Bangladesh is stained, with the blood of innocent lives of both Hindus and Muslims, two hundred thousand women brutally raped and tortured in the bloody history. I was travelling through the land route, and although things had changed, there was a serene landscape in front of my eyes. My mind was still pondering on thoughts of violence and pain suffered by people. I was so uncomfortable for some time that I wanted to get out of these thoughts, but it occurred repeatedly. The long struggle at the border for immigration checks and the bad treatment of officers sparked again the question of human misery and pain. It was my first experience of crossing the borders by land route. Long wait times in queues for 5 hours going for immigration check in both countries, people breaking lines, and no discipline sparked questions about Human values. 

These experiences had an intense impact on my mind. Things have mostly stayed the same since independence, especially for poor people. Things had not changed much after 1971, carrying all this weight in my mind and heart. I decided to perform. I believe in nonviolence, and I thought of performing on healing and reflecting on the history of the land and the self. The colour white stands for purity and peace. I carry the weight of white cloth and baggage of perfumes on my head, wrapped in corseted cloth in my hand. I carry bowls of stones and rice.

I approached the platform while playing a tune with my mouth, breathing in the air, and lost in thought. I wore tangled white cotton waste on my head. I came near the site filled with dust and dirt and Started my performance with the Ritual of cleaning the space with a monastic broom and placing the white sheet on the floor.

 I stood there throwing my deep voice resonating to the landscape around me while in mind the image of people in pain and torture rolled. The cry was both prayer and also pain. From time to time, I was trying to clear the air by swinging a white monastic broom in the air now and then. This performance was about land and people. It was a ritual to erase, relive and cleanse the past. 

The second part was where I invited my audiences to do simple rituals of resonating with the universe by making designs with rice grains. I applied it on the audience's palm to give positive vibrations and showed them small mirror reflections of the land and them. The rituals to reflect, introspect and resonate with positive vibes in the audience are a process of catharsis. This performance subtly talked about the violent history of innocent people. One needs to observe and immerse in an act of peace. I did not want to answer for violence through violence but with gentle care and humble acts to reflect on ourselves.

Dimple B Shah 17th March 2024