The Meadow -working title

In the year of 1995, Norwegian Hans Christian Ostrø, who had traveled to india was captured and murdered by the militant group Al- Farhan in Kashmir vally, this was the first incident of a brutal murder (beheading) by the terrorist group 20 years later there are numerous cases of european and american citizens being kidneped and beheaded by islamic state.

this was special case-A person who have no idea of what might come his way..he is like most of us guided by his intuitions to go and experience life and philosophy of the east  but he found himself in the middle of the religious and political game between two nations.

Hans Christian Østro’s note “ -Jeg har sett så mye vakkert i mitt liv at det ikke er vanskelig å dø i takknemlighet. men jeg har sett så mye vakkert i mennesker at jeghar håp om a leve”

some other information that Hans christian had learned kathakali in karla, and he was actuly teaching kathakali to the kids of the terrorists in the village he was kept,

in my mind a person it raises a lot of questions, how do we see or remember him in the Norwegian and Indian political angle, how do general people see him from both nations, was he a risk taker ?who went to the area of conflict even when he was given warning ! was he a romantic artist who wanted to bring the foreigner dance form (Kathakali ) to home land ?

The book on the Kidnepings titled "The meadows: Kashmir 1995 where terror began “

The shocking true story of a brutal kidnapping high in the mountains of Kashmir that marked the beginning of modern terrorism.In July 1995, ten backpackers journeyed into the foothills of the Himalayas, trekking to an idyllic campsite known as the Meadow. But their search for tranquillity was savagely interrupted when they were taken hostage by Islamic extremists.Using diaries, letters, classified police reports and interviews with the jihadis themselves, The Meadow traces the escalating tension between kidnappers, victims and police, while examining the high-level conspiracies surrounding the abduction. It tells of the single escape attempt and how - with a brutal beheading - the hostage takers took an irreversible step into the abyss.The shocking true story of the crisis that foreshadowed a new epoch of global terrorism, this is the book that forced Intelligence and government authorities to uncover what really happened in the Meadow.

The beginning of the terror,

I want this piece not to be his biography, instead I wish to interwove the interview of the people involved in the whole hostage drama, like staff of the foreign department of Norway(UDI), Norwegian embassy in Delhi,  the bureaucrats from indian side, indian counterparts parallel with the writings of hans christian during his india visit and during his captivity, i wish the project to be in-between documentary/ live performance.

the reason for this is when I thought of his life in a way I just see a normal person who have no idea of what might come his way..he is like most of us guided by his intuitions to go and experience life and philosophy of the east  but he found himself in the middle of the religious and political game between two nations..he didn’t choose that himself for sure ..

so this made me think what I am want to focus in this performance, do i wan to remember him as a hero or a victim of the terror event ..or there another way to look at this larger picture. the person verses system ..are we all part of some political and religious systems on a bigger level, weather we chooses it or not..it can happen to any one of us in todays time..and by doing this sort of reality// performative piece I want to bring these two things close to each other reality and dance performance, in a way that it can present all the layers Hans Kristian’s traveling to south India learning, performing Kathakali and decision to go up north Kashmir against the advise of Norwegian embassy during the time of high political tension, to him find himself as an hostage by terror group Al- Faran.

"There is saying that to know a human being or to witness the humanity in the time of crises"

after all the recent beheadings by Islamic state in recent years one can think that hans christian§s beheading was beginning of new face of pressure tension game played by fundamentalist groups and our own states.

Their are allegations that Indian govt. might have been behind all the hostage drama to get the international pressure on Pakistan!

or it was link to the terreorist group who was in their religious AND POLITICAL RIGHT trying to find new ways to seek demand ( which some people have thought has changed the face of modern terrerorism )

or did norwegian foreign ministry did enough efforts or so to call right effort in trying to get their citizen out of this game ?

Idea is not to draw conclusions but to see all these big factors which effects all our lives weather we chooses or not in opposition to a persons(Hans) own choices.

is a person who want to be a artist just a naive target ?

I wish to do ground research interviews so these can be put in to reflect person in conflict, politics and religion !

again the basic idea is to find a sort of new form of seeing and understanding what happened and not just with one angle but in larger picture with all the layers present. As our lives are constnatly, visible or not visible, directly or indirectly effected by these political and religious forces.

so what will form the performance is a case study type, it will be interviews of the people from the hostage drama time, his own text with background music score in kathkakli style with a kathakali dancer on stage 

oh the sound voices and visual( dance movement) will be worked simultaneously in the process sometimes to balance other times to create conflict and some time in  support to each other.

by doing this I really see dance in new context not dancing just for showing off or using dance to comment on something.. i just want all of us to understand the complexities and how does humans sprit deals with this complexities with out neglecting them. I see that thought is also a kind of movement in the brain in the intension..more n more i see and want to witness the intension behind an event and how does it has build up to where it is now.

in this context hans Christian should never be forgotten or never be just given one status of a victim or a hero but should be remembered like a normal person any one of us could have been on his place from the whole world in that moment..and interesting will be to see how he felt with the intensity of those hours ..that also in a larger context will reflect the life values of the Norwegian culture which is another angle 

I also see the roles the stages have in todays time what are they presenting to us..entertainment or comment on our present state or both. the very basic role of stage and performance was to make people aware, self awareness.

Jeg skjønner ikke hvordan jeg overlevde det uten å bli gal, seir Marit Hesby om ukene me uvissheten.

det er klart det er mange spørsmål. men jeg går ikke og plager meg med det. og jeg går ikke dypt inn i dette med hvordan han hadde det da han var fange, for å beskytte meg selv. det hjelper ikke å vite alt, tror jeg.- from the mother’s interview. in news paper on 4th juli 2015 in VG 

                       

while performance will take its embarking point in Hans journey in to kathakali and philosophy the text documentary will take its its embarking by the interviews of the people who worked on the negotiations of the hostage drama.Their role and how did the approach the case ?

some information on Hans from the book in the pictures taken from the book below

the people who i would be interesting to have the interviews are as below

Tore Hattrem- political officer at the Norwegian Embassy , new Delhi
Arne walther- Norwegian Ambasador to India.
IG Rjender Tikoo-crime branch chief, who led the negotiations with al- faran.
Yusuf Jameel- the BBC corespondent, instrumental in digging up the story of 1995 kidnapping .

more from the book about the kidnapping incident below

 Set designer - ?

Composer-  ?

Light designer- ?

Documentation& interviewer -?

Artistic motivation behind the project 

As part of the training and the process I am used to find a concept and then work it with training of the modern dance ganra,

but what will happen if I can use the clasiscal dance as the base of the creation, both in terms of the movement material as well as the base of the music.

another aspact which has made clasical dance an heritage rather then the active performance is the fixed mythological theam of the classical kathakali dances, so instead of speaking of the todays issues they are involved in the ever lasting emotions of devotion,

one of the reasons why contemporary dance as a term init self has become very dominant because of its flexibility of form as well as the theams/subject of the performances,

as a trained contemporary dancer its the perfect marriage of the two the flexible them and the current subject ..but what can happen if I take the team which is in todays time but use the form of classical kathakli dance as abase of creation,

would it be consider classical dance because of the form or would it be contemorary dance because of its theam.

this is the technical aspect of the piece which I am occupied with also some times thinking the dominance of the european contemporary dance in Asia.

what about the Asian dance… since I had training in both traditions europian contemporary dance as well as classical indian dance ( Kathakali and Chhau).

 another fact is that I have never choreographed a full evening dance performance in kathakali dance form..it would be interesting for my artistic growth to challenge my method of work and stretch my expression through indian classical dance.

An  Idea for the set design- I see the stage decided in part by the interrogation mirror, and its mainly two room in one of the room is a kathakli dancer and in other rooms is the traveler, who is going through these different places through the voices and interviews of the people through his life and the kathakali dancer is in the parallel world reacting and transforming through this process- this is the general idea..which will be developed with the process.

three people on stage- Sudesh adhana( performer & traveler through the places)

                                       - T. jagdeeshan ( the kathakali master and performer)

                                           - Composer   (composer, interrogating voice )

Process-

for the creative process I wish to visit the place in sreekrishanpuram where Hans studied Kathakali for 5 months and develop the charcter of Bhima, which he finally played in his performance, My kathakali expert n teacher shri Jagdeeshan will be with me on this trip with the composer as well , working from there we will develop the character further in a rehearsal space together and also in corresponding to the interviews. 

I want to use make up process, putting on the costumes and the preparation transformation of the person to the fully dressed Kathakali figure.
( Kathakali is the oldest dance drama form from south india, its recognised as one of the seven classical dances of India,  a dance forms originally performed by men only)

almost perlell to this would be the music/ sounds of the retuals  accompany pre performance notion done by the composer.  Interviews and talks to main four involved persons will be done separately in the process, let the interviewers know that these interviews are purly for the performance purpose and no part of this will be used against any one state or person.( only their voice will be used no video projection of their identities ( and if they want to reveal som thing which have never surfaced before and want to keep their identity a secret it will will be allowed. the interviews and the dialogue will be entirely focus around the facts of the actual incidents which took place during 1995 kidnappings.