What if Gandhi was among us?

Gandhi is Alive is a dance theatre performance that wonders what it would be like if the Mahatma were alive todayLast November, as Sumeet Nagdev browsed through his email, he came across a mass mailer sent by a friend. The subject read, 'Gandhi, Today'. Intrigued, 24 year-old Nagdev opened the mail and saw a photo of two ten-rupeeu00a0u00a0 notes which some ingenious bloke with an interest in fashionu00a0-- the notes have 'Fall Winter Collection' and 'Fall Summer Collection' written on themu00a0-- had sketched over the figure of Mahatma Gandhi. The result was a very hip, with-it image of Gandhi, who looked rather spiffy in a cap turned backward, and a hoodie.The imaged banknotes Sumeet Nagdev received via email that have inspiredu00a0the performanceThe photo got Nagdev, a modern dance exponent who set up a school for modern dancing three years ago, thinking. What if Gandhi was among us today, and was thrown out of the first class compartment of a local train? Wouldn't he take up the cause of the disenfranchised in modern India, just as he fought racism in South Africa two centuries ago? asked Nagdev, who began reading up on Gandhi last December.I'll admit, I knew very little about him. But the more I read, the more I realised how relevant he is today, says Nagdev. The founder of Expressions Modern Dance Company decided to create a dance theatre performance that would explore Gandhi as we know him through history books, and the idea of Gandhi that forms a part of our cultural and national legacy. Gandhi is Alive, a 58-minute eight-act performance by 13 dancers emerged from Nagdev's month-long tryst with books and conversations on Gandhi.The performance employs new musical compositions by Ameya Naik, but Nagdev also uses contemporary cultural references including a song by Alvin and the Chipmunks, an animated music group, and the Frank Sinatra hit, Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head. True to the style of Modern Dancingu00a0-- a dance form that emerged in the 1920s to break away from the impositions of classical balletu00a0-- there are no dialogues between the performers. Every expression is brought out through movement. Nagdev says the performance is his interpretation of Gandhi. There are many Gandhis for everyone. For me, Gandhi was a futuristic man, who was ahead of his time. It's unfortunate that he died before experiencing life in independent India. I wonder how the country would have evolved had he been around longer. The performance is scheduled to celebrate the 63rd death anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. At: Ravindra Natya Mandir, Prabhadevi, at 12.30 pm and 5 pm todayEnrty: Rs 200. Tickets are available at Rhythm House, Fort and at the EMDC studio in Dadar (W).Call: 4366777 / 76 / 71