In this new major production, two of the finest Kathak contemporary dancers of their generations, Aakash Odedra and Aditi Mangaldas, tell unspoken and sometimes taboo love stories. Mehek is an exploration of the human heart, its desires, courage and resilience. Centred around an older woman and a younger man, the dance delves deep into the different ways that love can be. Derived from the Hindi word for fragrance, the title Mehek alludes to the enduring power of memory and the essence of love itself. The stage becomes a place where rhythmic tales of desire unfold, entwined with elements of nature.
Mehek premieres in the UK at the Peepul Centre, Leicester from Thursday 4 to Sunday 7 April, and is showing at Sadler’s Wells in London from Thursday 12 to Friday 13 April.
We are really excited about Mehek, showing at Sadler’s Wells from 12-13th April. Can you tell us briefly about what we can expect from this performance?
AM: I am extremely excited to be at Sadler’s Wells once again. Mehek comes immediately after my solo FORBIDDEN whose UK premiere was there in 2023. Both these pieces are distinct in their concept and choreography and yet both of them address universal taboos that have been part of our society from time immemorial…in this case a love story between a mature woman and a young man. I am very much looking forward to sharing the stage with Aakash Odedra for my first-ever long-length duet. Aakash has a brilliant symbiosis in his being; the lightness of the spirit of a gazelle and the inner strength and peace of the Buddha. This combination makes for a powerful artist. This makes it extremely energising and fascinating for me to share the stage with such an enigmatic and diverse artist.
AO: It’s a show about love between a mature woman and a younger man. Why is it taboo for a woman to have a younger lover? Society doesn’t blink an eyelid if a man has a younger partner but when a woman enters a relationship with a younger man it is frowned upon. Ultimately it is about love. We have an epic design of floating mirrors surrounding the stage, almost creating a mirrored palace or a shattered mirror. There are musicians live on stage, weaving in and out of the story representing society, resistance and, at times, guidance and hope. Aditi Mangaldas is a legend in the Kathak world. To see this ferocious Kathak dancer move is something that leaves a lasting impression, to dance with her is a life changing experience! I want to transport the audience out of this world and invite them into our world, a world that defies possibilities and in which one can dare to dream.
This dance consists only of you two, Aakash and Aditi. What has the process been like working solely with each other on stage?
AM: As I mentioned, it’s my first full-length duet so the whole process has been a learning experience. When there is chemistry, mutual trust and deep respect between two artists, then the flow of ideas and imagination is free and simultaneous. Two identities remained distinct and yet were able to merge into each other. This resulted in a process that brought together diverse elements. Aakash brought in contemporary inputs, while I brought in some very classical Kathak ones. The percussionists brought in rhythm and drama while the vocalists added emotion. Slowly one started perceiving the beauty of each element, until a lasting fragrance – Mehek – evolved.
AO: Before I started working with Aditi, I simply worshipped her, I used to watch all her online videos on repeat! So now to finally be sharing the same stage and space has shifted my being, it has changed my dance and my approach to Kathak. One thing Aditi and I have in common is the attention to lighting, staging and aesthetics. We play with what the space has to offer and in doing so we feel we are never alone, the space is dynamised and dancing with us.
What sort of love story are you telling through Mehek?
AM: It’s a love story that you don’t see very often. It’s a love story between two ordinary people on this planet, one older than the other. However, we are conditioned to believe that the man would be older and the woman younger. Very rarely is it seen in any society for a much older woman to have a romantic relationship with a younger man. What are the dynamics of this relationship? What is it that is similar? Love is the same at whatever age. Desire is the same at whatever age and between whichever gender. Then what is dissimilar? It is the conceptualisation of time! Because each one views time differently. For one there is much more time in the past and less in the future while for the other the future seems endless. This doesn’t seem to matter in the regular ‘older man – younger woman’ dynamics. So why does it seem so important in the reverse case? Many poets and philosophers have said that love is one emotion that makes you experience timelessness and spacelessness. Then why should age matter?
AO: Aditi is 25 years older than me and this became the basis of our story. We both have different perspectives on time and we started to question why age became a restriction on whom one can love, why is there a such a big bias in how men are treated compared to women when it comes to younger lovers. For me personally I love the idea and poetry of this impossible love story, it felt like the Hir Ranja (Romeo and Juliet) story but through Kathak. The concept is simple – love – but the subject is complicated because of age and gender.
The word Mehek, can be translated from Hindi to mean ‘fragrance’. Is there a certain smell which reminds you of happy and loving memories?
AM: In one of the R&D sessions, Karthika Naïr, the dramaturge of Mehek, asked very poignant and probing questions. “What is the colour of love? What is the fragrance of love? What music do you conjure up when you think of love?” The above questions were put not just to Aakash and me, but also to all the musicians. It was fascinating to see how each one had different interpretations and answers. Love is a many-splendored emotions whose fragrance feels eternal, remaining with you through your life and triggering memories of a beautiful relationship. For me, love takes the form of diverse fragrances.
AO: Naag Champa, it’s the incense sticks I light every day in my temple, it reminds me of love for the divine, love that has no condition or limitation. From that fragrance, for me, are born all things connected to love.
You are both iconic Kathak dancers. What do you hope people learn from going to see Mehek, if they are seeing Kathak for the first time?
AM: The origin of Kathak is traditionally attributed to the traveling bards known as Kathakars or storytellers. So essentially both Aakash and I are storytellers. We share stories and invite the audience to journey with us. I would invite the viewers to enter our world of Mehek and then go on their own journey of the discovery of love, of passion, of desire, of caring and of awakening. Does societal conditioning affect our views about a love story involving a much older woman and a younger man? Should a woman’s life be categorised by age and time: time meant for romance; time meant for childbearing; after which their sense of love and desire is rarely addressed? These questions are what I hope that the audiences will take away. As storytellers, we tell stories from aspects of life that we get completely immersed in. For me, the audience’s understanding of Kathak is not really important. Dance is a universal language.
AO: I hope they are able to see that the beauty of love is that it’s unlimited and unconditional, it can be danced, sung or written about, there is no right or wrong. Kathak is the medium that Aditi and I share and love. It has brought us so much joy and we’re using it to express our lived experience. I hope that by the end of the show you no longer see Kathak but instead you see love… when all leaves, only love remains.
Mehek has its UK premiere at Peepul Centre, Leicester from 4 to 7 April before a national tour https://aakashodedra.com/whats-on/