Founded by Meghana Sabade, Nrityayatri, over the past 15 years, has remarkably contributed towards broadening Pune’s exposure, to a diverse spectrum of reputed artists. Being a pioneer in educating the audience and dance enthusiasts through  dance tours,  workshops that explore  techniques and as well as allied disciplines such as makeup, costume, light design, and thoughtfully structured  lecture-demonstrations and performances, it has remined true to its founding vision.   Continuing this legacy, Anumarga, on the 13, December 2025 at the Shakuntala Shetty Auditorium, marked the first Pune appearance  of Radhe Jaggi and Project Samskriti under the banner of Nrityayatri. Anumarga marked the culmination of a four-day event, where Project Samskriti conducted workshops in dance, Kalaripayattu and chanting.

Graceful and elegant, Radhe set the tone for the evening from the minute she stepped into the stage. Her soft, unhurried  introductions to the compositions helped the audience understand  the choreography that followed.

 Her opening piece, Paramapurusha on Krishna’s beauty, and the later presentation of Parvati’s tapasya were both true to the Bharatanatyam idiom. Rooted in the Kalakshetra style, the compositions were simple and uncluttered, yet quietly effective.

Kalaripayattu and Bharatanatyam have been integrated in a few pieces – the one on Kirata,  the forest god and  the other based on Ravana – Ahankara Vadham. Stunning the audience with their strength and suppleness, the male artists performing Kalaripayattu lent an impressive contrast. Choosing pieces in which the martial art could shine in its true form was a sensible path to take. Limited in its scope for storytelling, when compared with Bharatanatyam, its vocabulary was used much like abstract nritta. Using Kalaripayattu to showcase the fight between the forest god Kirata and the warrior Arjuna, or to emphasise Ravana’s strength, Siva’s powers and the sheer expanse of Mount Kailas, helped the audience engage more with the narrative — not to mention the  novelty of it, which  proves to be engaging. The stage itself felt too small for their expansive movements; these might be even more striking  in larger spaces.

Kirata gave them scope to depict hunting scenes and the climactic duel between Arjuna and Kirata using weapons, showcasing an integral aspect of Kalaripayattu. Here, Bharatanatyam was a mere backdrop, primarily to facilitate the  movement of the narrative,- and to be ornamental. In Ahankara Vadham, where Ravana attempts to lift Mount Kailas, the male Kalaripayattu artists played the titular roles, yet Bharatanatyam did a fair bit of heavy lifting as well.

 Serving as a thoughtful integration of Kalaripayattu and Bharatanatyam, the music and themes chosen across the pieces were  distinct, yet complementary.

Her piece Ahista explored music not often associated with Bharatanatyam, with extended  instrumental passages often lacking  clear percussion arrangements. It was an attractive experiment, but the juxtaposition of druta laya korvais with slower-paced instrumental music felt a little jarring.

Her solo piece, Alakh Niranjan, was the standout of  the evening. A composition written by Pandharinathacharya Galagali, tells the story of a saint— a yogi who was immersed in his devotion— and of a woman who fell in love with him. Yet it is not a love story, but one of sacrifice,  penance and the journey to find the ultimate truth. Infatuated by his fiery eyes, she professes her attraction to him. He, however, cannot knowingly let her be caught up in these earthly desires, and so he blinds himself, lest his eyes  become a distraction. All he preaches is the search for ultimate bliss; and his tragic sacrifice sets in motion her quest. Radhe is subtle yet powerful and despite giving away the twist in the narration, leaves the audience with goosebumps in the end.

Anumarga is an effective piece of work and was well appreciated by the audience. It would be interesting to see Radhe’s future works, especially with the strong in-house musical support that Sounds of Isha offers her. One hopes to see more such unconventional or even avant-garde choreographies from Radhe.

by 

Nrupa Soman

The author is a researcher, dancer, actor and a voice over artist

pc: Vineet Ekbote