Presenting the tale of Shiva and Shakti through dance

India International Centre (IIC) is organising a dance evening 'Love in the time of Kama' under the Double Bill Dance Concert to celebrating love and togetherness on February 14 at CD Deshmukh Auditorium, IIC.

The evening will be embraced by the solo Bharatanatyam performance by dancer Sharanya Chandran, daughter and disciple of Padmashri Guru Geeta Chandran.

In her performance, Sharanya Chandran will present the unique motif of the ardhanareeshwara, where Shiva and Shakti reside side by side, complementing their energies and capabilities. The varnam, a Tanjore Quaret gem in Ragam Kamboji narrates the plight of a dejected heroine completely besotted by her Lord, Shiva of Brihadeeshwara. Even as she awaits his arrival, she is tormented by arrows of love by Cupid, Manmatha or Kamadeva.

In the Vidyapati piece, the aspect of nindastuti comes alive as Radha argues with Kamadeva about how he has mistaken her for Shiva.

Sharanya has been passionately learning, choreographing and performing Bharatanatyam for over 25 years. As a solo artist and as a senior dancer of the NatyaVriksha Dance Company, Sharanya has performed at prestigious festivals including at the Khajuraho Dance Festival, Nalanda Nrityotsava, HCL Concert Series among others.

Sharanya is empanelled with the Indian Council for Cultural Relations as a solo artist and is also nationally graded by Doordarshan.

She is a recipient of the Swami Haridas Sangeet Kala Ratna Samman, The Yuva Natya Shiromani award, Parampara Award and the Chitra Kala Sangam Award. She is an integral part of NatyaVriksha, an organisation founded by her guru Geeta Chandran, which aims preserving and promoting Indian dance and culture.

At NatyaVriksha, Sharanya assists with teaching, and curating festivals, especially aimed at providing young dancers a platform to present their art. Sharanya is also trained in Nattuvangam and has assisted her guru and other performers on several occasions.

The dancer balances her career with her other pursuits. She completed her Masters in Development Studies from the London School of Economics as an INLAKS

scholar and is concurrently pursuing a career as a policy professional at J-PAL South Asia.