Ganga to Mississippi: A Confluence of Waters

I was introduced to Katha Dance Theatre’s Artistic Director Rita Mustaphi in the spring of 2020, during the depths of the Covid-19 pandemic. Rita had been developing a unique production to stage with her company of dancers and musicians. Like past production’s of Katha Dance Theatre, Ganga to Mississippi would incorporate other cultural and artistic traditions with Kathak dance, a storytelling classical dance form of Northern India. Originally intending to stage the production in a theater, the pandemic made that impossible. Instead, Rita was interested in staging the production outdoors and capturing it on film.

Having spent a formative six months of my life in the early 90s backpack traveling in India, I was immediately drawn to the project. I had spent a week in Varanasi at that time and had spent many days walking along the ghats of the river Ganga, observing the daily rituals undertaken there and taking in both the intense beauty of the river and the obvious signs of pollution. Growing up in the Twin Cities, I was also aware of how Native Americans regarded the Mississippi river in a similarly sacred manner. And as a student of geography, I’ve been deeply concerned about our mistreatment of the Ol’ Miss. The idea of a dance celebrating both rivers and calling attention to how both these essential watersheds are under threat was compelling. The resulting production integrates classical Indian dance and music with Native American storytelling and music as well as the folk music tradition of North America. I’m deeply honored to have been allowed to capture that performance and hope it may inspire continuing efforts to protect these river ways for generations to come.