Chandralekha: In the Voice of the Other

Kalarippayattu is an indigenous martial art of Kerala. I am a traditionally trained Kalarippayattu practitioner. I joined the Indian contemporary dance-choreographer, Chandralekha (1928-2006), in Chennai, as instructed by my Kalari Guru Shri E P Vasudevan Gurukkal (1932-2015) (Kaduthuruthy, Kerala). I worked with Chandralekha and performed nine of her creative productions for twenty years (1986-2006). I continued to perform her last creative production for another ten years. In this book, I am narrating my thirty years (1986-2016) of experience performing the creative works of Chandralekha.

"...he has the capacity to 'disappear' when he moves. We don't see him, we see the movement."

"...He does not represent the movement. He is the movement. Or more simply, he is."

- Rustom Bharucha

(Chandralekha: Woman Dance Resistance, pp.253-4.)