BACK TO THE FUTURE

Elsewhere in India, a new live transmedia performance, finds hope even in dystopias

- Bhanuj Kappal

What do you get when you take a vision of steam-punk post-apocalypse and run it through machine-learning algorithms primed with South Indian history and aesthetics? What if all this is soundtracked by the digital avatars of two veteran electronica pioneers whose bass and techno creations are built upon wide-ranging collaborations with folk and classical musicians, in an intricate latticework of tradition and futuristic modernity? Assemble all these ingredients under the watchful eye of a celebrated Bharatanatyam exponent with a sideline in transmedia design, and you get something like Elsewhere in India, the groundbreaking live transmedia performance set to make its debut at the Magnetic Fields festival in Rajasthan this weekend.