For as long as humans have existed, we have faced the inevitability of saying goodbye to those who have died. All cultures and religions have end-of-life rituals and practices that honor the lives of our loved ones. This conversation brings together faith and community leaders in an exploration of how we navigate the space between life and death, and how we continue to commemorate those who have passed.

This conversation is inspired by and rooted in Ranee Ramaswamy and Aparna Ramaswamy’s Fires of Varanasi, which Ragamala Dance Company will perform in Northrop’s 2021-22 season. The performance evokes a richly elaborate ritual where time is suspended and humans merge with the divine. Through images that reflect the cosmic trinity of Varanasi, India—sacred pilgrimage routes, the Ganges River, and the patron deity Shiva—the choreographers imagine a metaphorical crossing place where one may leave the mundane and enter into the world of immortality.

March 11, 2021 | 3:30 pm CT
FREE, registration required
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This event is presented as part of Ragamala Rooted: Fires of Varanasi and is made possible in part through grants from the New England Foundation for the Arts’ National Dance Project, with lead funding from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation; the National Endowment for the Arts; the Mardag Foundation; the F.R. Bigelow Foundation; the Marbrook Foundation; The Saint Paul Foundation; the City of St. Paul Cultural Sales Tax Revitalization Program; and the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.

This event is presented as part of Ragamala’s online partnership with the Northrop, in advance of Ragamala’s performance of Fires of Varanasi. Read More.