Sampradayam - a Bharatanatyam performance by Mallika Sarabhai

Sampradayam is a Bharatanatyam performance based on songs from the traditional Bhajan song rendition style of India. This performance is a salute by the famous artiste Mallika Sarabhai to both Bharatanatyam and Bhajans. It is said that Bhajans are music with simple songs, which are soulful to human ears and are purely devotional. Nothing can replace the Bhajans in India’s musical tradition. Bhajan style of singing has a rhythm maintained by cymbals of small size.

In the backdrop of the Bhajan musical style, Mallika Sarabhai tried to revive this age-old musical tradition by combining it with Bharatanatyam. Sampradayam is an outcome of this effort. Telugu, Tamil, Sanskrit and Marathi are the languages in which Bhajans combine with Sampradayam dance performance.

Mallika Sarabhai is a celebrated classical dancer from India in the dance disciplines of Bharatanatyam and Kuchipudi. She has also made her presence felt in Indian cinema and in politics. She feels that dance is a perfect medium for conveying ideas and is one of the most powerful ways to effect changes in the political, social and personal spheres. She is the daughter of the renowned dancer – Mrinalini Sarabhai and one of India’s famous personalities – Vikram Sarabhai, who popularized space science in India and laid the foundation for India’s space research programmes.

For more on Mallika Sarabhai - www.darpana.com