UK-based storyteller Emily Hennessey’s narration of the goddess was a joyfully told tale of a powerful woman and her journey of transformation, transcendence and rebirth, says Chahak Mittal
She is naked and intoxicated — dark and dishevelled yet terrifyingly beautiful — wearing nothing but a garland and a waistband of demon heads and a girdle of human hands, holding several weapons. With her tongue rolled out, she stomps on the prostrate body of Shiva, who is also her husband. She is the redeemer of both nature and humankind. And amid all this, even though goddess Kali’s image, with skulls and corpses, represents all symbols of death and destruction, her femininity is incomparable. She presents an answer to the question — what happens when a woman says enough to all the injustice around her?
When UK-based storyteller Emily Hennessey single-handedly began narrating Kali’s story and her victory against demon Raktabija on the stage at the Kathakar Storytelling Festival, there was a surge of electric energy around, swaying across the Sunder Nursery. It touched each one present in the audience and had them in awe of the goddess’ grotesque yet subdued aura. It looked as though she was very much present. She made sure all the eyes were glued to her bewitching narration till she was done. And when I tell Emily that the performance was electrifying, she exclaimed, “Well, it’s Kali! Isn’t it?”
She began her act by questioning — How is it possible for a mother to both create and destroy? When she watches young Kartikeya fighting alone in the battlefield against Raktabija, who doesn’t seem to be getting easily defeated as his name translates to ‘blood-seed’, she questions the gods above — Brahma, Vishnu, Indra and Shiva. And they all seem to have been “too busy” in their respective chores as Emily passes a contemporary joke at the right moment. Her story, though drawn from the colourful and ancient Hindu mythology, presented a melange of modern humour and took digs at the contemporary lifestyle.
She also showcased the demon asking the gods to make him more powerful by saying, “The world needs demons just like feast needs hunger.” And hence, a new demon emerges with every drop of blood that falls off Raktabija’s body after Kartikeya finally slits his throat. At last, when nobody comes to his rescue, Parvati steps up and enters the battlefield. With the right mix of both reverence and mischief, she says, “I only have to go and kill the demon now.” Emily said, “Kali is quite a well-known goddess for her vehement strength. But I was very much interested to explore her softer side. I have heard of many different manifestations of the goddess like Parvati, Sati, Uma, who showcase their journey traversing from creation to destruction. I wanted to show how out of a motherly concern, she steps in the battlefield in the avatar of the powerful goddess, and at the same time, how a woman can destroy the world and its cruelty when the time comes.”
Emily’s understanding of Kali itself made it evident of how overwhelmed she is of her style. So how did she begin telling the ancient Indian tales and how did she get fascinated by them? Well, she was 18 when she went to Nepal for a few months to work as a volunteer. “I sold the images of all the gods and goddesses for the first time then. And somehow, these stayed with me. I was curious to know what are their stories,” she said and added that it grew further when she started working with storyteller Dr Vayu Naidu, who narrated stories from Indian epics. She said, “I saw her tell the Ramayana, the birth of Ganesh, and a lot of epics and stories about different Indian gods and goddesses. And that really fed my fascination. Then there were a lot of trips to India too.”
She said that her fascination with Indian mythology also grew when she looked at the number of gods and goddesses present. “There are over a million of them. It’s extraordinary! And they all have different manifestations of each other. They are very three-dimensional and human because even we have all these different energies within us. I found these stories so colourful, bright and cosmic and yet full of universal truths. Some of these are even love stories, which are so beautiful. These stories are very close to my heart because they are full of love and colour,” said she.
Even as though Kali triumphs over Raktabija, the gods and Shiva ponder that Parvati has drank a demon’s blood, which is making her energy omnipresent and she trembles with outrage. Shiva, after a number of tricks to bring back her warmth, finally lies beneath her feet to reduce her angst. Seeing her consort beneath her foot, Kali realises that she had gone too far. To showcase this, Emily, hitting the right note, uttered, “Oh! What happened to you husband? Why are you lying there?” and acted like nothing had happened. She also questioned the destruction around and when she asked Shiva, he said, “Oh honey! It’s a long story.”
So how is it that she brings such intricate emotions so deeply and aptly? Emily said, “Before the performance, giving space for the story to be alive is very important. By not learning the script, the story would come out differently every time. For me, it just has to be alive within me. Hence, I need some time and space before bubbling over. Then, the story takes over and I don’t know what’s happening. It is the story that’s in charge.”
The storyteller said that she reads as many versions of the same folktale as possible to gain a broader perspective. She said, “Apart from reading various versions, I also ask from people on my visits to India, especially in the temples of Kolkata. I go around asking people to tell me their versions of the same stories and then, piece together the bits of stories that I like the most to make my own version.”
Emily recalled the Kathakar festival in 2016, when she saw a performance based on Kali for the first time, which immensely inspired her. “I got instantly interested in the performer’s amazing energy. When the goddess Kali came to life on stage, she was absolutely present! There was a huge and powerful fire that they lit up. The performer had seemed to completely go into a trance. His eyes were shaking as though he was completely possessed with the goddess. It was so powerful. I wanted to know what is this power that she has?” she told us.
As her narration ended, after Kali goes back to being Parvati again, Emily questioned, “And Kali? What happened to her? Where is she?” Later, she answered, “Kali is omnipresent. Time and again, she will come when the moment is right and fight off a thousand Raktabija-like demons in the world.”
There are various versions of the same epics but they have all been told through a general perspective or mostly by the men in it. However, recently, there have been authors who have penned the Mahabharata and the Ramayana through the perspectives of Draupadi and Kunti, and Sita. However, Kali seems new. She has often been misunderstood and not been explored much. Emily said, “It is always important to tell the story of a woman and be aware of the gender inequality that we have had for centuries. Telling the story through a woman’s perspective also fights this very patriarchal way of collecting, writing or telling stories. So this is a challenge. I just open my heart and do it. I just let them speak for themselves as humans and as women.”
Well, Emily’s performance certainly seemed like a joyfully told tale of a woman and her journey of transformation, transcendence and rebirth.
