One of the most prolific dancers of Bharatnatyam of the last three decades Malavika Sarukkai doesn’t need much of an introduction. Her experimentation and blending of energies of various dance elements have been well received over the years. With each production she raises her bar and leaves her audience asking for more. Her recent performance at the NCPA on Tuesday revealed another interesting side of Sarukkai as a madly passionate dancer in love with her craft with the perfect poise and grace.
Sarukkai performed her arangetram at the NCPA almost three decades ago and reflecting back upon those years she spoke of the times she didn’t want to dance. “My first reaction was of complete denial and I actually said a big no to dance. I didn’t like practising regularly,” says Sarukkai.
Pursuing a professional career in dance has always been a matter of great contemplation for many artistes. Mostly because the profession is not financially lucrative compared to other career options. However, Sarukkai didn’t face such a problem. “I was sure about becoming a dancer at the age of 16. Dance had to be my final calling because by then I was sure about what I wanted to do. I don’t think I could have been anything else but dancer,” says Sarukkai. “I didn’t have any ‘options’ and maybe that worked. Not having choices made my belief in dance all the more clear,” she adds.
Faith is an important element that she tries to stress on while talking about pursuing a career in dance. It is the belief and faith in one’s abilities that makes things simpler. “My mother told me to pursue dance if I loved it. It was as simple as that. I didn’t think beyond that or else then I would have calculated the risk factors, which could have dissuaded me,” says Sarukkai.
Her dance, which defines grace and conviction in every step, is a result of years of hard work and dedication. “I simply enjoy the sheer experience of dancing. It is the mindfulness, which permeates within and seems like every cell inside the body is lit up. Dance is a process of bringing about discipline emotionally, physically and mentally,” elucidates Sarukkai. She cites an example of a gong at a friend’s place in Zurich, where the sound of the bell resonated in a large courtyard and captured the essence of dance in that sound. “The process of circling the hammer around the circumference of the bell and then striking it hard actually defines process of dance,” says Sarukkai.
Analogically speaking the circling would be the hard work and practice put in all these years, while the final blow of the hammer is living in the moment of that movement. “The reverberating sound made such an impact on me and still remains in the deepest of my thoughts somewhere,” says Sarukkai, which also leads to understanding of the rasa theory. “The experience of a performance, which stays with you even after it is over is the rasa. The moment of transcendence is rasa,” says Sarukkai.
The need to explore what we don’t see is more important than what we already have. “Imagining the intangible and envisioning it is such an exciting process,” stresses Sarukkai. And this is quite visible in her dance productions like Krishna Rtu Krda, where she has tried to explore that intangible element.
“Krishna as we normally associate him with the mischievous avatar of his different from the evocative, sensuous image that he presents with the gopis. I wanted to explore the aspect of transformation from the worldly affairs to other worldly ones, from shringar bhava to shringar bhakti and many such elements,” says Sarukkai.The choreography freely flows with the rhythm and lives up to its moments of suddenness. Sarukkai has always tried to create the sacred aspect of nature through her dance. “It is magical to listen to the tree, to receive its energy and feel its essence. One could imagine what it feels like to be a seed that is sprouting and is on its way to feel the sunlight. The world is so intense and there is so much of thought one can put into pushing the boundaries,” says Sarukkai.
One of her productions Tejas, which is based on S.H. Raza’s paintings, delves into the geometrical aspects of art and dance. Her production provides a confluence of the two creative works. “I related to Raza’s lines, his geometrical thoughts and shapes which led me to explore his creations. I would describe it to be pulsating and throbbing with the music being quite a soundscape,” says Sarukkai.
Audience is not a factor that she considers while choreographing. “I rely on my instinct,” says Sarukkai. For a person who experiences dance more than just performing says, “Dance is almost like baring my soul.”