Mahal: Three Days of Dance at Krishna Gana Sabha

Chennai-based Kathak dancer Jigyasa Giri, founder of Devaniya — the Dakshin Gharana School of Kathak — curated a three-day festival titled Mahal at Krishna Gana Sabha from 30 October to 2 November 2025.

Day One

The festival opened with Devaniya’s own production, A Palace Door Opens. The work explored the idea of the moth and flame as a metaphor for human impulses—steadfastness on one side, yearning and surrender on the other. Drawn from ghazals, the narrative addressed questions of choice and consequence. The students performed with clarity and held the stage with neat group alignment. The set design and music formed a strong framework for the presentation.

The second segment was Million Sitas, the well-known Neo Bharatam work by Anita Ratnam. The piece continues to offer new perspectives with every viewing. Through fabric, spoken text, and spatial design, Anita Ratnam revisited the Ramayana through its women. The allarippu-based introduction, the evocation of Sita, and the song Seetamma mayamma created a strong opening. Mandodari’s story with green gloves, Ahalya’s sequence with grey drapes, and the lullaby aariraro used during Sita’s abduction stood out for their conceptual approach. Uma Sathyanarayana paved way for live singing intertwined with dance aspects enhanced the presentation. The modern way of rendering Sita Kalyanam was relatable. The ending, with a litany of contemporary women’s names, connected the theme to lived realities answering many unspoken chaos that women go through.

Day Two

Seminar - Amidst City Lights - An ‘eye opener’

On the morning of 1 November, the festival presented a stimulating seminar featuring eminent dancers, thinkers, and scholars who explored wide-ranging perspectives from within the classical arts ecosystem.

Jigyasa Giri opened the session with Kathak in Chennai, interweaving the art form’s journey of tradition and adaptation with her own experiences, followed by Swati Potulwar who spoke on Strings of Tradition, highlighting lineage and continuity. From the teaching front, Kuchipudi dancer-educator Sailaja addressed Balancing the Stage and the Classroom, sharing insights on current trends and challenges in training the next generation. In contrast, Uma Murali focused on performance versatility in Handling Different Genres of Classical Dance with Ease, illustrated by short demonstrations that revealed subtle but telling differences between Bharatanatyam and Kuchipudi.

Practical realities faced by artists were voiced by Mangudi bani exponent Revathi Ramachandran in The Financial Realities of a Classical Dancer, touching upon pay scales and government grants. A shift in tone followed with Ramaa Bharadvaj’s reflective and humorous Discovering Your Avatars – A Dancer’s Safari, prompting the audience to examine their many artistic identities.

Technology and its impact took centre stage when dancer Anita Ratnam asked, “Are you going to be a ‘reel’ dancer or a ‘real’ dancer?” as she delved into Indian Classical Dance Values in the Digital Age of AI. Rounding off the seminar, Prof. Ashish Mohan Khokar’s Dance Matters! A Reality Check provided an expansive assessment of the dance landscape today, both in India and abroad.

Evening performances

The second evening began with Antapur – Ekvinshati Arpan by Swati Potulwar and ensemble. The work offered twenty-one aspects of Kathak as an offering to Lord Ganesa. Thihai, thumri, parmelu, gathnikas, padanth and the like were presented across four segments: avahanam, thaal arpanam, bhava arpanam, and samarpanam. The green backdrop and red costumes provided visual cohesion, and the jugalbandi sections were well coordinated.

Uma Murali and team followed with Kuchipudi. Their presentation of the Dasavatara Tharangam, set to Puraya mama kamam by Narayana Theertha from Sri Krishna Leela Tarangini, wove together jatis and brief sancharis to outline the ten incarnations. 

The third presentation featured Sailaja and ensemble, depicting the Divya Prabhavam of Sri Venkateswara. Using the idea of Tirupati as a present-day ‘mahal’, the dancers traced the significance of the deity through Jaya jaya Srinivasa  a composition of Narayana Theertha in ragamalika. The presentation maintained traditional structure with a steady energy.

Day Three

Avatarana – The Story of Natya

In Avatarana, Ramaa Bharadvaj transported the audience straight to devaloka, tracing the origins of natya with her characteristic blend of scholarship, humour, and effortless storytelling. She explored the central questions that have shaped the art form for millennia — How did the Natya Sastra come to be written? Why was it created? Where was it first performed? And who, in a playful twist, witnessed the first-day-first-show?

Brilliantly weaving together passages from our ancient treatises, Ramaa made a complex mythic narrative accessible and irresistible to dancers and non-dancers alike. In her distinctive signature style, she melded mystic insights, allegorical observations, and practical wisdom with light-hearted wit to reanimate an age-old tale about our culture’s artistic ancestry. The result was an interactive and engaging experience that kept the audience laughing, reflecting, and fully immersed from start to finish.

The final day opened with dancer Revathy Ramachandran and her team. The vocal support was layered with subtlety and improvisation, but the choreography did not quite rise to meet the musical complexity. The use of poi kaal kudhirai in the Ganga descent sequence brought a change of texture to the staging. Certain stretches contained extended jatis that diluted the sattvika emphasis, and the musical choice for Ganga’s descent did not align fully with the theme. The concluding Ganga Harati created a moment of connection with the audience and was impactful.

The festival concluded with Devaniya’s Tamil-based Kathak production, Kaalam Ooruttum Dhaayam. The music supported the narrative smoothly. The use of black duppattas to signify Draupadi’s suffocation was striking. Character introductions were clear, and the symbolic use of a rope as the dhaaya kattai was effective aptly the choreography moved around it. Four dancers personified the dice, adding an element of tension to the progression. The production was impressive.

Mahal drew a full audience across all three evenings at Krishna Gana Sabha. The festival offered a range of ideas, interpretations, and traditions, giving rasikas an opportunity to engage with diverse approaches within the classical dance field.