Two Bharatanatyam artists transform a Kashmir stage into a sacred space — classical dance as devotion, philosophy as movement.

At the closing evening of the Kashmir Literature Festival 2024, dancers Aishwarya Adhri and Nandini Malik — trained in the lineage of the late Guru Dr. Saroj Vaidyanathan — offer three consecutive Bharatanatyam compositions as an act of artistic worship. The programme opens with Devi Stuti, drawn from the Kunchika Stotram and the Devi Mahatmayam, invoking the Goddess through beej mantras, the Sri Chakra, and the paradox of Rudra Rupini: destroyer of evil, yet tender mother to all devotees. The second piece, Ardhanarishvara, is set to verses by Adi Shankaracharya and renders in dance the philosophical unity of Parvati and Shiva — the feminine and masculine principles as inseparable halves of one cosmic reality, performed in Megha Ragam and Talam Adi. The evening concludes with a joyful Tilana in Ragham Dwijavandi, dedicated to Lord Krishna. Throughout, Aishwarya contextualises each piece with clarity and devotion, framing the performance itself as an offering to Kashmir — a land she describes as the eternal abode of Devi.

ABOUT THE DANCERS:
Aishwarya Attri – Bharatanatyam dancer and yoga teacher from Himachal Pradesh with a master’s degree in performing arts
Nandana Moulick – Post-graduate Bharatanatyam dancer who began her journey at a young age
Both artists have performed at prestigious venues including the Neta Mukesh Ambani Culture Centre.