Mallika Sarabhai’s recent performance at The Bengal Club’s Makaibari Classical Evening was a testament to the artist’s peak expressive powers. Sarabhai demonstrated not only technical mastery but also a deep, scholarly engagement with movement as language across multiple classical styles and choreographic idioms. Singing the Goddess, comprising five dance recitals, depicted a rare blend of tradition, storytelling, and commanding presence.
The programme opened with a duet performance, Kali Kauthuvam in Bharatanatyam, an invocation that established both mood and intent. Sarabhai’s conception of the fierce yet protective goddess, Kali, and of Shiva communicated power with sculptural precision. The dancers’ footwork was crisp, their movements economical, and abhinaya strikingly controlled, conveying rage, compassion, and cosmic authority sans excess. The choreography respected classical syntax while allowing for moments of dramatic pause — a reminder that stillness, too, is a part of Bharatanatyam’s grammar.
This was followed by Panchadevi, also in Bharatanatyam, performed by Sarabhai herself. Here, she moved seamlessly among the five manifestations of the goddess, using subtle shifts in stance, gaze, and rhythm to differentiate character and emotion. The piece highlighted her narrative clarity as well as her ability to make complex theological ideas accessible through movement.
A change in texture came with Maate, a lyrical composition marked by flowing lines and rhythmic restraint, in Kerala Natanam. The devotional mood deepened with Devistuti in Mohiniyattam where languid movements and soft, circular gestures created an atmosphere of meditative grace. The evening concluded on a spirited note with Singhawani in Kuchipudi. Sarabhai’s portrayal of the lion-like energy embedded in the choreography was both playful and authoritative, demonstrating her remarkable versatility. The choreography demanded brisk footwork, expressive torso movement, and dramatic energy, all of which she executed with clarity and wit. Importantly, she maintained Kuchipudi’s theatrical exuberance without diluting its structural discipline. The performance, which culminated in Sarabhai drawing a lion with her feet while dancing — a definitive part of the temple rituals of Andhra — was a conversation among classical forms, myth, and contemporary sensibility.
