G Ulaganathan By Express News Service BENGALURU : Audiences in the city are familiar with dance performances staged by husband-wife teams, as also mother-daughter duos, or sisters dancing together. But it is not often that we get to see a well-known celebrity mother dancing with her son.On Friday, Bengalureans will have the opportunity to see Dr Mallika Sarabhai and her son, Revanta Sarabhai, go on stage and perform for Swartaal, Jagriti Theatre’s annual festival of classical music and dance. “Ma and I have been sharing the stage since I was quite young, and there is always tremendous joy in dancing with her, which many people say is clearly visible to the audience. It’s a privilege to be the third generation after two legendary and renowned dancers, and I am incredibly lucky to have had the opportunity to dance with my grandmother, and continually with my mother,” says Revanta. He had performed for Jagriti last year, and this year too the group has invited the two to present a Bharatanatyam duet on the opening night of the three-day festival at the indoor auditorium in Whitefield. The other two days will see the Gundecha brothers performing Dhrupad, and a Kathakali show by the Kalamandalam group. Mallika and Revanta will present a mix of traditional and modern themes, starting with Kautwam, combining nritta and abhinaya components. They will string together four Kauthuvams, invoking Ganesha, Kartikeya, Devi, and Nataraja.This would be followed by Geeta Govindam, the Sanskrit love poem composed by the 12th century poet, Mahakavi Jayadeva, in Odisha. The ashtapadis capture the different moods of love between Krishna and Radha - some are almost hymns, listing Krishna’s achievements in his various incarnations. Natiyinchu Ni Paadu will be an interesting jugalbandi between Shiva and Parvati. What is to be watched with interest is how at one stage of the dance competition, Shiva raises his leg over her head. Though Parvati could have easily done so, she didn’t think it proper to do so, and thus unfairly lost the competition. Next, in the padam, Tavaro, Mallika will present a padam that speaks of love in the 21st century. “How can love be wrong?,” she asks, reflecting on the prejudice and intolerance that is all around us today. The duo will wind up with the Hindi Thillana by Maharaja Swathi Thirunal, celebrating rhythm, melody and dance itself. Mallika, who has been a soloist, has produced over 3,000 hours of television work, focusing on issues on environment, women, communal harmony and violence. After her role as Draupadi in Peter Brook’s The Mahabharata, which she played for five years, in French and English, the dancer began using her work for social change. Revanta is a dancer, choreographer and actor, and forms the third generation of artistes from the Sarabhai family, after his grandmother Mrinalini and his mother. Having made his solo classical dance debut when he was eight, he has been performing professionally since 1999. Revanta has developed a repertoire, often going outside the boundaries of tradition, and tackling themes that are relevant to society. Incidentally, Bengaluru is his second home, as his wife hails from here.The show will be held at Jagriti Theatre Auditorium, Whitefield, at 6.30pm on Friday. (The writer is a city-based dance critic)

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