Event Title:

Organization:

  Cultural/Indian Descent

  San Francisco

Start Date:

  11/7/2025

End Date:

  11/9/2025

Start Time:

  8:00 PM

End Time:

  5:30 PM

Event Info: 

  Nov 7 and 8 at 8pm, Nov 9 at 4pm

Chitresh Das Dance presents the new work, Veil of Janki Bai, a Kathak dance-drama and multimedia performance about the reclaiming of a woman's voice inspired by the life and legacy of one of North Indian classical music's earliest recorded female artists, Janki Bai, also known as Chhappan Chhuri ("one with fifty six gashes"). Veil of Janki Bai is a collaboration between Co-Artistic Directors Charlotte Moraga (choreography) and Alka Raghuram (dramaturgy, multimedia), with Saneyee Purandare Bhattacharjee as the featured vocalist and Sudhakar Vaidyanathan on tabla.

Veil of Janki Bai draws inspiration from the life of Janki Bai of Allahabad (1880-1934), the famous vocalist and courtesan who created history as the first Indian classical artist to record on the Gramophone. Her recordings. were so popular a lavender record was created as her signature. She always wore a veil when singing and was known as Chhappan Chhuri, referring to the 56 scars from cuts on her face. It is not clear how she got the scars, but what is known is that she was a pioneer and a great artist.

"Janki Bai practiced her art in a time and a world that valued beauty as the only currency for women. She defied gender boundaries through the radical act of practicing her art," explains Moraga. "The story of her success as a trailblazing musician, despite the scars of violence upon her body, is as relevant today as it was then."

As part of our programming focusing on seva and community, "Seva and Tyaag," one of the nine principles of Pandit Chitresh Das, Chitresh Das Institute will partner with Narika, a Bay Area organization whose mission it is to promote survivors' independence, empowerment, and well-being by helping domestic violence survivors through advocacy, support, and education.

https://www.chitreshdasinstitute.org/veilofjankibai

Location:

  ODC Theater

Room:

Address:

  3153 17th Street

Phone:

  415-342-5691

City:

  San Francisco

State/Province:

  CA