Rati Vilaap

Choreography: Dr. Maya Kulkarni

Premiere: November 9 25 2023, Moving Images, New York City, NY, USA

Performed By: Blakeley White-McGuire and Kaustavi Sarkar

Notes: Love and loss are the themes of Rati Vilap in Kalidasa’s epic poem Kumārasambhavam. The story begins after Kama, the God of desire, is reduced to ashes by Shiva when he is disturbed by him. Sarkar and White-McGuire essay the role of Rati, the consort of Kama, and evocatively encapsulated the rollercoaster of emotions and mourning (vilap) when she touched the ashes of his body and accepted the bitter truth of his death.