Sohini Roychowdhury, acclaimed Bharatanatyam dancer, choreographer, cultural ambassador, and founder of Sohinimoksha World Dance & Communications, is out with a new book, titled Not a Consort! Kali — The Goddess Without Permission. The book delves deep into the world of Kali, the Goddess who is fierce, unapologetic, nurturing, terrifying, and protective all at once. Collaborating with her son Rishi Dasgupta, the danseuse also brings in the complementary energy of Shiva, and hence completes the Shiv and Shakti narrative.
“Kali, for me, is not just a deity but a profound archetype of true feminism. She represents uncontained, fearless, and unapologetically transformative energy. She stands for becoming without permission, breaking illusion, and reclaiming voice and agency beyond socially conditioned limits. I felt a strong need to bring that understanding into a global conversation on feminism, which is often reduced to binaries or surface narratives,” said Roychowdhury, whose last book was Love, Life and Drama that explored the Natyasastra and the Indo-Greek fusion.
The danseuse who is recognised for her innovative productions that fuse Bharatanatyam with global traditions like flamenco, ballet and others, shared: “Alongside her stands Shiva, not as dominance but as the evolved masculine principle: still, aware, non-intrusive, and deeply supportive of shakti. In this balance, Shiva does not suppress the feminine; he holds space for it to fully express itself. That, to me, is where a more conscious understanding of masculinity lies, one that holds rather than controls. So this book became a way of articulating that lived inner world: moving from humanity as performance in Love, Life and Drama to consciousness itself as performance in Kali and Shiva.”
Pitching in, Rishi spoke of the larger goal of the book and how Heidi Klum’s Halloween portrayal, inspired by Kali, left him with a mix of irritation and disappointment. “Not because she was the focus, but because it reflected a pattern I’ve noticed growing up between Spain and the UK, where something deeply philosophical from India is often flattened into aesthetic or ‘exotic costume’ territory.” Explaining what Kali means to him, he said: “For me, Kali is not a prop or a visual idea for performance or shock value. She represents a vast philosophical and spiritual universe tied to transformation, fearlessness, destruction of illusion, and the deeper layers of feminine power.”
The book starts with Kali, and it gives a deep insight into the Goddess who is associated with immense power, femininity and her cultural relevance. The research is thorough, and talking about it, Sohini shared: “We went back to primary sources like the Devi Mahatmya, Tantric texts, and regional traditions where Kali is worshipped in distinct forms, from Bengal’s Shakta practices to South Indian ritual interpretations. Alongside textual study, we explored how Kali is expressed through performance, ritual dance, and iconography across classical and folk traditions. We also engaged with contemporary feminist thought to understand how Kali resonates in today’s discourse on agency, power, and embodiment, especially within non-Western frameworks of feminism. This helped us move beyond an academic reading and see her as a globally relevant symbol of resistance and renewal.”
In her dance practice, especially within Bharatanatyam, Sohini has encountered Kali not as a character to be depicted but as an energy state to be inhabited. How strongly does she believe Kali is the epitome of feminism? “Kali is a powerful and uncompromising embodiment of what can be understood as true feminism, though not in a modern, slogan-based sense. She represents autonomy in its most absolute form — unbound by permission, hierarchy, or limitation.”
Sohini is currently working on a passion project, Rishi and Rio, that is anchored in the idea of building empathy and global understanding through storytelling for children.
