Enlivening the space with tradition, art and storytelling, the dance festivals at temples popularise the Indian classical dance and heritage art forms. “If performed with care and with an aesthetic eye, I think festivals in temples can enhance the experience of spirituality,” begins Padma Bhushan awardee Mallika Sarabhai, as we catch up with her ahead of her performance in Warangal. A pioneer of both the kuchipudi and bharatnatyam dance forms, and belonging to a family of individuals who are all recipients of the prestigious Padma award, Mallika’s enactment of the bharatnatyam connotes glimpses of architecture in motion. We ask her how she unites a temple, for instance, Ramappa’s rich philosophy, craftsmanship and heritage, with her creative expression. “I love exploring spaces, creating and performing my art at different architectural monuments. I think it’s an emotion,” she responds.
A dancer, who also reflects activism in her expressions and performing art pieces ever since 1990, Mallika’s artistic voyage has encompassed and re-examined mythologies, and environmental concerns. That said, her art also supports every woman in activism. “For example, during the COVID lockdowns, I created two pieces on video, Arid, which talked about climate change; and Dear Judge Saheb, referring to the judge who did not permit Natasha Narwal to meet her father before he died. Art has to mirror what you feel and show society what is wrong with it,” she tells us.
Mallika’s creative dance career traverses theatre, puppetry, mask work, contemporary, and classical dance genres, and is seasoned by her day-to-day experiences, encounters and what she observes around her. Nataraja Vandanam, the bharatnatyam dance ensemble performance at Ramappa temple is based on her mother, late Mrinalini Sarabhai's book, Love Songs to Shiva, which was initially completed as a homage to Shiva's many facets. With its collection of songs on love, longing, and devotion, the Pandanallur style bharatanatyam — a fusion of Tandava and Lasya, the masculine and feminine expression of Shiva as Ardhanarishwara — comes to the frontline. Mallika extemporised the classical dance programme’s footwork and choreography.
In Telangana, one broadens the definition of cultural heritage through the enriching art forms entrenched in its language, melodies, traditional knowledge, folklore, food, and dance. Often, the very cultural influences blend seamlessly with the region’s architectural landscape and heritage. Furthermore, it is reflected in the countless ancient temples, still serving as active places of worship and art. One that reminds us of Deccan’s regal dynasty of the Kakatiyas, is Warangal’s Ramalingeswara Temple, more widely known as the Ramappa Temple, after its eponymous architect and sculptor. “Ramappa is a Shiva temple, so we have recreated a group piece of a series of celebrations of Shiva. We have referred to my mother’s book and we are showing Shiva’s different aspects but some of the choreography is new. We would be performing it in this form for the first time,” Mallika tells us. A lot of barriers are broken down by the compelling language and subtext of the arts, she also adds. For instance, the medium of arts can be a means to encourage better and more conversations around social evils. “I think art is a very persuasive language for any kind of change.”
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Throughout the history of performing arts, artistes have used a spectrum of styles in their movement to complete their expression. Without them saying a word, you may sometimes infer what a character is thinking, and you can sometimes tell by the way a character moves or holds themselves that the things they are saying are also social realities.
“For me, be it dance or music, or theatre – are different strings of the same instrument which is trying to communicate with an audience – to create rasa (aesthetics of art) between the Rasika (connoisseur or the aesthete) and also the artist,” she tells us. Inspired by temples and later refashioned as theatre art, bharatnatyam and kuchipudi, as dance forms have greatly evolved over the past years. “I have been writing new lyrics, especially for bharatnatyam so that they reflect my concerns today. So, thematically for me, the dance form has evolved a lot. But, in general, in the country, more stagecraft has come into both these art forms, and that has enhanced the experience of both the audience and the performer,” Mallika adds.
Mallika Sarabhai will perform at Ramappa Temple's festival – Paramparaa’s Gudi Sambaralu in Warangal on January 21, 2023.
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