‘Idea of God by Apoorva Jayaraman’

What is God—creator, creation, or a figment of our minds? In this solo Bharatanatyam recital, Dr. Apoorva Jayaraman ruminates on this timeless question through a series of evocative and previously unseen dance narratives drawn from India’s vast intellectual and literary traditions. From the Nasadiya Suktam of the Rig Veda and classical Sangam poetry to modern Tamil literature and Bhakti saints, the recital traverses eras through a visual journey to negotiate with God as a concept in Indian thought. 

The performance brings together powerful episodes—the paradox of creation in the Vedas; the Mother Goddess, seen in juxtaposition across a span of 2,000 years; the unique ability of Bhakti to embrace God as a flawless child, while also daring to question Him as a fallible human. While to one vaggeyakara God could transcend gender, to another female saint-poet the approach to God was as natural as colours merging together. 

A Bharatanatyam artiste and scholar based in Chennai, Dr. Apoorva Jayaraman is known for her layered and interdisciplinary approach to the classical arts. She is the recipient of the Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar (2023–24) and the co-founder of the RootEd Foundation and The Study Room—initiatives that merge traditional arts education with contemporary frameworks. 

Through these nuanced interpretations, Apoorva weaves together philosophy, literature, and movement to create a living canvas of how India has understood God—sometimes as He, sometimes as She, sometimes as both, and sometimes as a formless presence beyond all binaries. 

This performance is supported by Reliance Foundation.