Mallika Sarabhai ahead of her performance at Nakshatra Dance Festival 2025: 'Art must reflect what we think'

As the NCPA’s (National Centre for the Performing Arts) Nakshatra Dance Festival 2025 lights up Mumbai’s cultural calendar, Mallika Sarabhai, the iconic dancer, choreographer, and activist whose art has blurred the lines between the personal and the political, brings her new creation, Meanwhile Elsewhere, inspired by Invisible Cities (Italian writer Italo Calvino’s book). In a chat with Indulge, the veteran Bharatanatyam and Kuchipudi exponent dives into her new work, her creative philosophy, and what continues to drive her as an artiste and activist.

Mallika Sarabhai on blending classical dance and contemporary social issues

“This performance is unique in many ways,” begins Mallika, throwing light on her latest work, Meanwhile Elsewhere (a theatrical odyssey—one that drifts between dream and decay, memory and invention, past and future) for the Nakshatra Dance Festival 2025. "While it draws inspiration from Italo Calvino’s Invisible Cities, it is not a direct adaptation. The creation is by our artistic director, Yadavan Chandran. I have done the choreography and costumes, and I’m also playing a part. Through a journey across 12 cities, we actually look at the most serious issues that face us today, be it climate change, loneliness, or mental health. But we never directly talk about them. We have already had 16 shows in Ahmedabad, and the response has been overwhelming. People have come for the second and third time, some in tears, saying, ‘This is what we missed and needed but didn’t know how to express.’ I am really looking forward to bringing it to Bombay.”

Talking about her own evolution as a dancer over the decades, she, who is known for her ability to weave social commentary into the classical idiom, says, “I began as a young Bharatanatyam and Kuchipudi dancer who never thought she should create. But as a political activist since the age of 12, my work gradually coalesced around using dance, theatre, music, puppetry – all of it – to speak about what I care about. Over the years, dance has become a stronger and stronger language for me. And I fall more in love with Bharatanatyam every day—its sophistry and sheer power.”

Interestingly, despite decades of performance experience, the Padma Bhushan recipient tells us that stage fright never quite leaves her. “I’m always nervous as hell. If I’m not nervous, then I get nervous about that! The two hours before a show, when I start my makeup, I go into a meditative state. I don’t like talking or phone calls. It’s an inward process, preparing to create the rasa that will touch the rasika.”

Mallika is one classical dancer who has often used her art as a tool for activism. So, how does she approach blending art with social justice? “Dance is a language like any other. I’ve learnt the grammar of Bharatanatyam, Kuchipudi, Carnatic and Hindustani music. But if I don't use them to express what I think and feel as a citizen concerned about the world, then I'm underutilising them. If art can touch people, then it must talk about what matters.”

She adds, “In a democracy, every citizen has a duty to speak up. As a public figure, I have a tool and a voice, so I must use them. I can’t speak for other artistes, but I believe they should too. Look at Hollywood; they speak out against injustice. In India, very few do. (Carnatic musician) TM Krishna does, I do, and maybe a couple of others. But every citizen must discover their voice. I am guided by the belief that each of us comes into the world with a purpose — to make it a better place. Every day, when I light a lamp, I say to myself, 'Make me worthy of bringing light, or happiness, or justice into the world.' This has been my mantra in both my personal life and my art.”

Ask her about the current state of artistic freedom in India, and she is both hopeful and wary. “As long as everything is allowed to blossom, the good will take root and the bad will fade. But today, we are politically allowing only certain things. India must breathe freely. Let every flower blossom — what is strong will endure, and what is weak will die out. Thankfully, India’s precious arts are being nurtured across the world, and that gives me hope.”

Acknowledging the complex history of caste within India’s classical arts, Mallika believes that it’s time the focus shifts to inclusivity and equality. “Politicians have made caste a central theme in our lives, and that’s wrong, as it destroys our social fabric. As the chancellor of Kerala Kalamandalam, one of the first things I did was to ensure that nobody would ever be stopped from learning because of caste, religion, or gender. Art is a celebration that must be treated with gratitude and openness.”

Does she see a generational shift in how Indian youth relate to their cultural heritage? “I see very different kinds of young people. Some have a ten-second attention span, yes — but I also meet extraordinary young people deeply committed to values and ideas. At our school, Darpana Academy of Performing Arts, we have about 200 young girls dancing, often alongside their mothers. We teach them more than Bharatanatyam — we teach values, ethics, and how to relate the past to the present and future. So, no, I don’t think there’s a clear generational shift.”

And what’s her advice to young dancers? “Art is a tough life in India. It’s tough because art is at the bottom of the pile; everyone thinks it’s free. Making a living from it is very difficult. But stay true to your art. Riyaaz never stops. People ask me why I still practise so much, and I tell them that as you grow older, the bar keeps getting higher. You have to keep raising yourself to meet it.”

October 31, 6.30 pm onwards

At Jamshed Bhabha Theatre, NCPA, Mumbai

sangeetha.p@newindianexpress.com

X- @psangeetha2112 

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