Radhe Radhe - Rites of Holi

RADHE RADHE: Rites of Holi is a multimedia collaboration by composer-pianist Vijay Iyer and filmmaker Prashant Bhargava, who were inspired by the centennial of the Stravinsky-Nijinsky Rite of Spring to explore another springtime rite: the Hindu festival of Holi, famous for its colourful celebration of the love between Krishna and mortal-born Radha – their relationship symbolizing the meeting of the earthly and the divine. In northern India, Bhargava filmed images of an eight-day Holi festival held in the city of Mathura (the mythic birthplace of Krishna). Iyer then composed his score as the musical complement to Bhargava’s ecstatic visual ballet, drawing at times on the rhythms and chants of the Holi festival; the result is one of Iyer’s warmest, most colourful creations to date, as rich melodically as it is texturally. Released by ECM on Blu-ray and DVD, RADHE RADHE: Rites of Holi is a kaleidoscopic experience.

RADHE RADHE was commissioned by Carolina Performing Arts. The film premiered in 2013 at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, with the score performed live to the film by the Brooklyn-based International Contemporary Ensemble, with the composer on piano. Covering the premiere, National Public Radio declared the work to be “visually and sonically dazzling.”

With cinematography by Bhargava and Craig Marsden, RADHE RADHE explores not only the “festival of colours” aspect of Holi – where celebrants throw vividly hued powders on each other – but also the overturning of social norms during the eight days of pilgrimage in Mathura. During Holi, everyone enters a state of uninhibited freedom. Temples fill with devotees, dancing without inhibition, pushing and shoving to receive blessings. Gangs of teenagers loiter on corners with buckets of coloured liquid and powder waiting to douse those who pass by. Men, equipped with shields and dressed in vibrant garb from the region of Krishna’s playground, make a pilgrimage to Radha’s village. As the men boisterously taunt them with provocative chants, the women await, armed with long sticks. Purging fires and expressions of devotion offer a night-time counterpoint to the bawdy daytime revels.

RADHE RADHE: Rites of Holi is more audio-visual poem than documentary, aiming to convey a sense of the Holi experience. Adding another layer, the film incorporates images of Radha, portrayed by Indian-American actress Anna George. Venerated during Holi, Radha’s relationship with the god Krishna “personifies our interactions with the forces of nature,” Iyer points out. With Bhargava’s eye for telling detail even amid the riot of colour and crowds, the film captures not only the euphoric aspects of Holi but also the primal, including a more volatile element in the throng.

Bhargava explains the impulses behind the film. “I wanted to show Radha not just adored and desired by her devotees, but also as a woman on a transforming journey. Anna George’s role explores Radha as a living force. Incorporating sounds of the actual event, Vijay’s composition propels us to a state of renewal. When I witnessed the live performance alongside the film, it was beyond my imagination.”

“I had clear ideas at the outset about what the music should sound like,” Iyer adds. “I pulled some of the audio from the film footage, the native rhythms of this region in India, and that helped me create – working with the rhythms and tempi that the people were dealing with there and orchestrating that. Watching the festival take place in the film, it’s an experience of a multitude, but there are individual voices – and that was another inspiration for how to orchestrate. For me, the film is about taking people through a series of energies so that they experience an arc – and that to me is really how music works.”