The Kolkata Centre for Creativity (KCC) and Weavers Studio Resource Centre presented Apar-Kaya, a captivating performance by the celebrated dancer Shashwati Garai Ghosh. This performance, which served as the finale of the historic exhibition Textiles from Bengal: A Shared Legacy, combined dance, history, and textile customs in a profoundly moving retelling of memory and myth.

The story of Vedvati, her unmet destiny, and her eventual metamorphosis—an allegory interwoven with the weavers’ craft—laid the foundation of Apar-Kaya. The stiff threads of the loom symbolise Vedavati’s struggles, and the soft yet resilient cloth that emerged reflects Sita. Dual timelines were used in the performance to bridge the past and present as Vedavati’s quest for vengeance gave way to revelation, redefining concepts of strength and morality.

Textiles from Bengal: A Shared Legacy, which revealed four centuries of fabric traditions and international entanglements as well as Bengal’s legendary textile legacy to the world through histories of migration, trade, and cultural exchange, struck a deep chord with Apar-Kaya. There was a significant synergy between the performance and the exhibition. Apar-Kaya also untangled the complexities of history and identity, much like Bengali textiles are etched with layers of time, containing the tales of those who spun, woven, and embellished them. The story of Vedavati and Sita turned into an allegory of the fluidity of artistic expression, where bodies, like textiles, become vessels of memory and transformation, in addition to resiliency and reimagining.

Apar-Kaya served as the exhibition’s poetic epilogue as it came to an end, serving as an embodied testament to the enduring power of storytelling, craft, and legacy.

Priyanka Dutta