Fortress of Desire

A performance titled 'A Streetcart Named Desire', featuring Indian and international artists and performers, explored different desires through an unusual act on a full moon night at the Gwalior Fort

- Swati Subhedar

THE sun has set. There is no orange tint in the sky; it’s dark. As the winding road takes one uphill to the majestic and magical Gwalior Fort, the rock-cut Jain monuments come to life. Downhill, the shimmering lights of Gwalior city resemble twinkling stars. The full moon—the eternal object of desire—shines brightly. The elements of the night—the uneasy/calming silence, a dog barking at a distance, the honking of a truck passing by, a lone night bird singing in the dark while returning home—add to the mystical settings. Your heart desires that time freezes so that you can stay in the silent moment just a little longer. Soon, orange and pink lights bring the ramparts of the Gwalior Fort to life. The audience settles. It’s showtime. The dreamy sequence begins. The fort turns into one of the props. The night turns into an element of desire ...

The fourth volume of Panorama Editions, an international art salon created by Sarah Singh—a New Delhi-New York-based award-winning artist and filmmaker, whose multi-dimensional practice features moving images, text, photography, theatrical stagings, set and costume design, painting and drawing—was held in Gwalior on November 16. Like the first three editions—Patiala (2018), Jodhpur (2019) and Jaisalmer (2023)—that were organised at heritage sites/ forts, this year, too, the Gwalior Fort—an architectural marvel that is an amalgamation of culture, history, tradition, grandeur, bravery, royalty and magnificence—was chosen as the venue.

The performance titled ‘A Streetcart Named Desire’— derived from Tennessee Williams’ play ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’—featured 48 Indian and international artists who came together to form a collage of performances that explored the theme of different forms of desire—aspiration, longing, to let your presence be felt, for beauty, for passion, to be loved, to break free ... to name a view.