Pravaha Dance Festival 2026 – Day 3

Damaru – The Adisakshi

Mohiniattam by Gopika Varma

Kāmāyanī

Bharatanatyam by Dr. Janaki Rangarajan

Gopika Varma is a Mohiniattam artiste and a disciple of Girija and Chandrika Kurup, both senior students of Kalyanikutty Amma. Varma later specialised in the form under the guidance of Kalyanikutty Amma and her daughter Sreedevi Rajan. Varma also learnt abhinaya , which is the quintessence of Mohiniattam, from Krishnan Nair, the doyen of the Kathakali stage. Varma has performed extensively at various art festivals in India and abroad. She has been bestowed with numerous awards and recognitions including the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, Kerala Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, Nrithya Choodamani and Kalaimamani Award, among others. Varma runs Dasyam, a Mohiniattam dance school in Chennai.

(Gopika Varma is associated with the Nrityagurukul programme as a guru.)

Dr. Janaki Rangarajan is a Bharatanatyam exponent who trained under Madhavi Chandrasekhar in Trichy and Dr. Padma Subrahmanyam at Nrithyodaya, Chennai. A sought-after performer and a gifted choreographer, she has trained numerous students over four decades.

Dr. Rangarajan has also trained in Carnatic vocal and the veena under the tutelage of Kamala Viswanathan and has received advanced vocal training with D. K. Nagarajan. She is a recipient of Nadanamamani – Shriram Award of Excellence by Kartik Fine Arts, Yagnaraman Award of Excellence by Sri Krishna Gana Sabha and Singar Mani awarded by Sur Singar Samsad, among others. She is a member of the Association of Bharatanatyam Artistes of India (ABHAI) and Indian Dance Educators Association (IDEA), where she has held the office of Secretary. She was the Chairperson of the Young Upcoming Artists Forum (YUAF) and also received the 2010 Strauss Fellowship for Choreography from the Arts Council of Fairfax County. She is a graded artiste of Doordarshan and is empanelled with the ICCR. Dr. Rangarajan is the co-founder of Kalashraya, a non- profit dedicated to the promotion and protection of Indian classical arts.

Written by acclaimed poet Jaishankar Prasad, Kāmāyanī follows Manu, the first man, after the great deluge as he encounters Shraddha and Ida while attempting to rebuild the world. His actions towards both women lead to his downfall at the hands of Rudra. At this turning point, as Manu begins to question the world he is creating, his questions transcend his own story. In this production, the myth opens into a contemporary exploration of ego, desire, acceptance and the battle between heart and mind. It is a reflection on loving without possessing, seeing a woman as an equal and accepting her intelligence even when it challenges our own. His reflections become a mirror held up to each of us. In our relationships, our choices and the worlds we shape every day, how much of Manu lives within us and what kind of world are we choosing to create?

Box Office: 9th Nov for Members & 12th for the Public of the month.