FIRE OF VARANASI: DANCE OF THE ETERNAL PILGRIM

Fires of Varanasi is an immersive ritual for the stage where time is suspended and humans merge with the divine. Ranee Ramaswamy and Aparna Ramaswamy imagine a metaphorical crossing place that enters into the world of immortality, expanding upon the birth-death-rebirth continuum in Hindu thought to honor immigrant experiences of life and death in the diaspora. For them, the transformation of the soul after cremation becomes a powerful symbol for human resilience and the tenacity of people and cultures across time.