The template for Antar Yatra, presented by AIM for Seva at the G.D. Birla Sabhagar recently, was a narrative told in the dance drama format. But what emerged gloriously from the use of a breathtaking variety of media and an expressive vocabulary is the renaissance of Indian classical dance choreography at its richest. For, in present times, it is not often that one sees such a distinctive attempt to experiment with the poetry of movement and reach beyond the limits of the physical to explore the abstract. On a seven-city tour across the country, Antar Yatra, or The Journey Within, travelled into the heart of the woman dancer and delivered a resonant artistic experience. It both absorbed the audience in the creative process and transported them into the mysterious realm of the artist's mind.

The choreographer, Sharmila Biswas, chose three dance forms of the Coromandel belt that trace their origins to the mythical apsaras of our Puranas and owe allegiance to the devdasi tradition. Kuchipudi, Bharatnatyam and Odishi revealed themselves to her in all their commonalities and richly flowed, one into the other, with never a transgression. It was as though they yielded to her their secret connections until the boundaries between them stretched to make Antar Yatra an astounding whole. Biswas also sought material from folk arts such as shadow puppetry and Pinnal Kolattam to add drama to the work.

If the story she told was about the artistic vision of a woman, Biswas's seamless choreography rendered it universal in its impact. From the agonizing uncertainty at the beginning of the creative process - brilliantly portrayed by the use of a baffling variety of women's voices - there is a gradual shift into the realm of the inexplicable as she draws towards the extraordinary from the mundane. Eventually, the dancer nurtures her work to share it with an audience even as she begins her eternal dalliance with the divine - perceptibly, here, her Art.

The story flows smoothly, supported by its well-researched and sensitively executed music, cleverly put together by Srijan Chatterjee. An accessible score with innovative use of traditional dance pieces germane to the three dance forms and other compositions provided the soundscape for Antar Yatra. Diaphanous fabrics in a multiplicity of tones and screens in different weaves added fluidity to the narrative. The gentle drapes of the dancers' costumes and in the restraint of colours were an integral part of its aesthetics. The dancers, led by Biswas, straddled the twin worlds of movement and emotion with ease, making Antar Yatra a rewarding watch. If Shashwati Garai Ghosh (Odissi) and Amrita Lahiri (Kuchipudi) were spontaneous, Lakshmi Parthasarathy Athreya (Bharatnatyam) was outstanding in what was perhaps the most non-representational part of the narrative.