Name: Bandhana
Start: 2025-12-07T18:00:00+08:00
Location: Esplanade Singtel Waterfront Theatre, Singapore

𝑩𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒂 pays tribute to lineage, legacy, and continuity by featuring selected excerpts from the repertoire of BAA’s late Artistic Director and Cultural Medallion recipient, 𝐒𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐡𝐚 𝐁𝐡𝐚𝐬𝐤𝐚𝐫, an iconic pioneer whose intercultural vision continues to shape the identity of BAA and Singapore’s arts landscape.
In dialogue with these seminal works, BAA premiers 𝒃𝒉𝒂̄𝒗𝒂𝒃𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒂, an ambitious new work-in-progress, choreographed by her daughter 𝐌𝐞𝐞𝐧𝐚𝐤𝐬𝐡𝐲 𝐁𝐡𝐚𝐬𝐤𝐚𝐫, the current Artistic Director and Young Artist Award recipient. Using the evocative imagery of the saree as an umbilical cord, bhāvabandhana explores the enduring connection between the Indian diaspora and its cultural roots, almost like a symbolic thread weaving identity and continuity across generations, binding the past to the present even as we move into the future.
bhāvabandhana, meaning “emotional bonds” in Sanskrit, encapsulates its central theme: inheritance – not only of artistic traditions, but also of values, visions, and the evolving vocabulary of intercultural expression. Drawing deeply from the emotional and creative legacy she inherited, Meenakshy continues to carry forward Santha’s ethos while charting her own distinct artistic path. With bhāvabandhana, she hopes to transform tradition into something alive, resonant, and profoundly contemporary.
Promising to provide an exciting dimension to Bandhana is prolific multimedia artist 𝐁𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐆𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐓𝐚𝐧 who will infuse his signature cutting-edge style, creating paradoxical juxtapositions along the way.
Be prepared also to be broken out of your echo chambers as scriptwriter and dramaturg 𝐀 𝐘𝐚𝐠𝐧𝐲𝐚 puts forth compelling perspectives of emotional entanglements that connect us to our families, communities, and shared cultural memory.