Before the araimandi settled into stillness and the first syllables of the Nattuvangam echoed through Ravindra Bharathi, there was silence. Not an empty silence, but one that waited — for devotion to take shape, for mythology to become movement, and for the many faces of the divine feminine to emerge, one story at a time.
On Saturday evening, Bharatanatyam dancer Sathvika Ranganathan returned to Hyderabad with Ya Devi, a solo recital that was as much an offering as it was an exploration. Built around the traditional margam, the performance journeyed through Saraswati, Durga, Lakshmi and the countless emotions they embody — knowledge, courage, love, compassion and nurturing strength. “Over the years, I found it challenging to portray these different shades of feminine divine energy,” Sathvika tells CE, adding, “Through this performance, I realised these seemingly contrasting qualities coexist within every woman. Rather than presenting devi as a distant deity, I wanted to celebrate her presence in our everyday lives and within ourselves.”
The evening opened with an Anjali, an invocation that gently prepared both dancer and audience for the journey ahead, before flowing into Hamsa Yuktha, dedicated to Goddess Saraswati. Every gesture felt rooted in the quiet dignity that Bharatanatyam has preserved for centuries. From there, the recital gradually gathered emotional depth.
The heart of the evening lay in the Khamas Varnam, where devotion expanded into storytelling. This was followed by an Annamacharya composition portraying the romance between Goddess Alamelumanga and Lord Venkateswara, before Amma Nimma shifted the emotional register once again, dwelling on the tenderness between mother and child. The recital concluded with a joyous Tillana, allowing the evening to end in celebration rather than stillness.
For Sathvika, however, these were never isolated compositions but interconnected expressions of the same feminine force. “Whether it is Annamayya or Purandaradasa, every composer portrays devi differently. In one composition she is a confident lover, in another she is a warrior princess. We begin with the giver of knowledge, then move to the courageous princess, the bold lover, the nurturing mother and finally the all-pervading energy. Although each segment has its own identity, they are all expressions of the same divine energy,” she explains.
The recital demanded as much of the performer as it did of the audience. Within a single evening, Sathvika moved between bhakti, sringara and vatsalya — emotional landscapes that required complete internal transformation.
She reflects, “It is challenging at first. But over years of training, I’ve learnt that abhinaya begins from within. When the emotional intention is clear, the transition becomes more organic and truthful. My guru, Uma Sathyanarayanan, has helped me explore these many facets with nuance and honesty.”
If expression shaped the performance, music became its emotional compass. “In Bharatanatyam, music is never just an accompaniment; it is an equal storyteller. I am fortunate to have a guru who is also a singer, and Sweta Prasad rendered these compositions so beautifully that it inspired me to respond and emote even better,” she expresses.
While audiences often associate devi with power alone, Ya Devi deliberately lingered on her quieter dimensions. “Courage and Shakti are integral to the divine feminine, but I also wanted to highlight qualities that are equally powerful — compassion, patience, wisdom and unconditional love. Those emotions are woven throughout the recital,” she notes.
Behind months of rehearsals and years of training, the final days before the performance had been surprisingly simple. “The final days were about trusting your practice and giving it your best. And praying that everything went well. It is truly a team effort — the blessings of your gurus, the support of your family — everything matters in bringing a recital like this to life,” she concludes.
The applause that filled Ravindra Bharathi marked the end of the recital, but not the conversations it stirred. Through every hasta, every glance and every measured step, Ya Devi reimagined the divine feminine not as an unreachable ideal, but as a living, breathing presence.