Chilanka

In the exquisite setting of his narrative in the tender bowels of the Kathakali parampara as it was strictly practiced by the dedicated Chakiyars of yore, Gopi manages a subtle critique of culture – and especially dance – yielding too soon to changing times. At another level Gopi’s story is the story of passion for dance. Hisprotagonist’s dance seems to flow in the veins as a recognizable corpuscle! To those of us who are dancers, this passion is easily understood. To those on the outside this passion must be truly bewildering. …The sensitive writer is also adept at eking out the unsaid emotions of everyday living that artistes face. The severe dichotomies between the imagined dance narratives they enact and the calamities of their mundane existence. The poverty! The unspoken emotions! The burdens of biology! And the battle with metastasis! So join Lakshmi as she wraps the Chilanka of life and let her gentle rhythms suffuse your soul! (From the Foreword by Geeta Chandran, Padma Sri Awardee for dance)