Recreating the saga of divine love

The legend of Mahabharata immortalises the divine dance of Lord Krishna and the gopis (female cowherds). Kathak dancer and choreographer Uma Sharma, along with her disciples, recreated this instance of divinity from the epic through a devotional dance performance to celebrate the festival of Janmashtami at the India International Centre, Max Mueller Marg, on Friday evening. Titled ‘Radhe-Govind’, Friday’s performance was the 18th edition of this show that brought together Raas—a traditional dance of Vrindavan along with classical Kathak.

The event commenced with a screening of Shri-Radha, a film that familiarises the audience with the philosophy of Krishna. This was followed by Sharma’s dance performances, which also featured compositions by poets including Swami Haridas, Surdas, Mirabai, and Jayadeva. “Through poetry and shlok, we will show the journey of Krishna. We start with his birth, and then go on to show the raslila. We are only focusing on his rasik roop and not the rest,” shared Sharma before the show.