This latest multi-disciplinary performance from Chennai is all about the connection between perception and reality

The questions around what feels real and what is perceived have never felt more urgent. Maya emerges from this space of inquiry, gently asking us to pause and notice where we stand. Anchored in the varnam, Maye Mayan Sodariye, first premiered in the 1970s and revisited through multiple incarnations, the work carries both memory and immediacy within it.

Experience Maya—a culmination of dance, music and visual art

“Speaking about Maya is not easy, because it resists being described simply as a performance. It is more accurately an experience,” says Vijay Palaparty, the lead collaborator of the performance. The work follows a clear structure of movement, lyric, raga, and visual art, supported by a rich musical landscape that includes vocal, veena, violin, flute, nattuvangam, and mridangam. At the same time, Maya is conceived as a space that can be revisited, allowing something new to emerge each time. “It is deeply multi-sensory in nature,” he adds.

Drawing from Vijay’s grounding in Bharatanatyam and Kuchipudi, Maya opens a contemplative terrain where the feminine is seen as a creative and generative force. Apart from Vijay, the creative force behind Maya includes Ramya Kapadia (music) and Shanthi Chandrasekar (visual art). 

Presented and produced by Vijay’s multi-arts organisation Spilling Ink, Maya nudges audiences to reflect on how perception itself constructs reality. “In a traditional Bharatanatyam performance, the members of the orchestra support the dancer’s vision, with the dancer as the primary artist. Maya reimagines this hierarchy,” says Ramya. Here, each artiste functions as a soloist while contributing to a shared artistic vision. Several sections are entirely impromptu, relying on trust, shared intent, and intuitive alignment. “A performance of this nature offers a rare and deeply fulfilling artistic possibility,” she adds. While portions of the music are structured, Ramya and the ensemble engage in spontaneous improvisation during the performance.

However, for visual artist Shanthi Chandrasekar, the idea of Maya has been a long-standing inspiration. About two decades ago, she began filling sheets of paper with hand-drawn horizontal lines, discovering how simple rules could give rise to complex patterns. This led to her Maya series, where simplicity and complexity coexist through visual illusion. “When Vijay Palaparty invited me to be part of this project and shared his ideas, I felt that the site-specific installation, Maya – Transitory Experiences, was a natural fit,” she says, reflecting both his vision and her own interpretation of the theme.

Open to all. January 25. 11 pm. At Spaces, Besant Nagar, Chennai.

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