The Music Library at the Cairo Opera House is currently hosting a silent tribute to an Indian form of devotion – namely the traditional dance practices of “Kathakali and the Rituals of Theyyam.
Alia “Coucla Refaat’s exhibition, which opened on Thursday, explores the ritual forms of Indian cultural dance; a side the photographer says is little-known in Egypt, which has all too often been inundated with the images of saris, and turbans, and portraits.
Reverence and admiration were evident by the looks of the crowds that have amassed at the Music Library, where dignitaries of the co-sponsoring Indian Embassy were present. Ambassador R. Swaminathan opened the exhibit that consists of 35 images distilled, Refaat reveals, from a collection of 12 gigabytes worth of pictures.
“It’s a culture that amazes me, Refaat tells Daily News Egypt. The brochure professes her desire “to see how people live, and to learn about their beliefs, culture, and art.
Kathakali is literally the enactment or play, “kali, of a religious story, “katha. The lower floor of the exhibition showcases this popular dance form of Kerala.
The devotional aspect of India is illustrated in Refaat’s saffron colors and magnificent gods.
“Elaborate, I have to underline 10 times, says Refaat, speaking of the costumes and makeup of dancers. The dancers ensure eyes turn red to match their costumes by inserting a grain of rice in their eye.
“You have no sound, says Refaat of the performance, “only background music and drums. The purport of the story can be derived from hand gestures, called mudras, and facial expressions, or bhava, of dancers.
Several pictures linger on these gestures and expressions, possessed with grace and tranquility.
In Kathakali, men often portray women’s roles. One performer portraying a lady “actually had tears. It was killing me, said Refaat.
With a black backdrop accentuating their colorful costumes and makeup, the dancers’ poses are imbued with drama. “It is not photoshopped; says Refaat, “they were using a black curtain.
“Theyyam is the ritual dance of Northern Kerala, who receives its name from a deviated form of the word “daivam which means “god . The dance of “theyyam is said to possess the spirit of the dancer with the gods they portray.
As with the ritual itself, a large part of the photographs displayed on the upper floor of the exhibit are devoted to the preparatory phases when dancers embellish their features with paint.
The depth of focus in many of these pictures brings out the drama and – once again – rewards the dancers’ devotion to detail. The drama of facial expressions and features is fore-grounded over a blurred background.
In a picture taken at the Tiger Temple, a dancer wears an ornament around the mouth to signify tiger teeth. Looking at the mirror, the dancer practices facial expressions to evoke his spirit possessed with the tiger-deity. The subject’s eyes appear animated, and his face threatens to rise out of the picture, like a god from the mirror. Is it too easy to portray an already colorful and elaborate scenario? The bluntness of the question catches her off-guard, but her answer follows immediately.
“No, she says. “You don’t want to get a normal shot – you want to get a view from an angle. You don’t want eight photographers to have the same angle.
It was through a travel group organized by Tawfiq Essawi, a US photographer, that Refaat found the opportunity to document the Indian ritual. Essawi was initially hesitant to take a 23 year-old along, but upon seeing Refaat’s work was eager to have her on board.
A story is told differently when you hold a picture, says Refaat about her experience of India. “My experience starts when I go back and watch the pictures.
Refaat started photographing at an early age using a Zenith camera taken from her father’s antique collection. For her travels to India in January this year, she was armed with a Canon Mark 2 and her Canon Flash.
As a student at Modern Science and Arts University, she pursued her interest, and her student project on double exposure led a successful exhibition of her work at the university.
Her interest in photography led her to further travels to Paris’ Speos Institute, where she studied commercial, studio, and portrait photography.
Her interest in seeing other countries increased when she traveled as a synchronized swimmer with Egypt’s National Champion’s League. Refaat has also won awards in the 2004 and 2006 photography contests at El Sawy Cultural Wheel; in the latter, she earned first prize. Currently, she owns a studio in Heliopolis from where she works as a freelance photographer, shooting interior locations.
Refaat will be available on all days of the exhibition which closes on June 28 at the Music Library at Cairo Opera House. Refaat’s website http://www.couclaphotography.com/ will be launched soon.
