PUTNEY, VT—Next Stage Arts will present Buddhadeva, a solo performance by Akaina Ghosh, on Friday, October 23 at 7:30 p.m. at 15 Kimball Hill in Putney. Doors open at 6:45 p.m.
Both a love letter and a conjuring, Buddhadeva is Ghosh’s deeply personal work in conversation with their great-grandfather, the prolific Bengali writer and poet Buddhadeva Bose. Set along the Ganga River, the performance moves through poetry, music, ritual, memory, and translation as Ghosh attempts to awaken the presence of an ancestor whose language they cannot speak.
Ghosh, a non-binary second-generation American-Bengali artist, encounters Bose’s writing across the distance of generations, language, and place. The work asks what gets lost in translation, what can be discerned from the scattered pieces of a family history, and whether we can find ourselves in the words of those who came before us.
“Ever since I came in contact with his poetry, I have wanted to create a piece in conversation with his life and his works,” Ghosh says. “I hope this piece can serve as a bridge between the past and the present, allowing for the impossible to become possible for a brief moment in time.”
Along the banks of the Ganga, a river associated with death and rebirth, Buddhadeva explores love, loss, language, identity, and the longing to reconnect with one’s own history. The performance offers an intimate entry point for children of immigrants, anyone tracing the lives of their ancestors, and audiences drawn to the mysteries of inheritance and belonging.
Tickets are $20 in advance, $25 at the door, or $10 for the livestream. Tickets and more information are available at nextstagearts.org.
Next Stage Arts is located at 15 Kimball Hill in Putney, Vermont.
