Interview with Sahil Mudaliyar

RTN009:Reflections on Bharatanatyam and Sadir: An Interview with SAHil Mudaliyar

As part of the Relearning the Nautch project, we spoke with Sahil Mudaliyar, a young practitioner of Bharatanatyam and Kuchipudi, about dance training, historical awareness, and the place of difficult histories within contemporary classical dance education. Having studied Bharatanatyam for six years and Kuchipudi for five, Sahil offered thoughtful reflections on the relationship between artistic practice and the histories that surround it.

One of the central themes that emerged during the conversation was the question of historical knowledge. When asked about their familiarity with the histories of the Devadasis and Sadir, Sahil explained that these subjects were not always presented in a systematic manner within formal training. Instead, their understanding developed gradually through independent reading, conversations, and classroom discussions. Reflecting on this process, they noted that learning about the Devadasis and Sadir provided a deeper understanding of Bharatanatyam's cultural and historical foundations.

What was particularly striking was the way Sahil described this knowledge not as supplementary to dance training, but as something that fundamentally altered their perception of the art form itself. Learning about the communities associated with Sadir encouraged them to view Bharatanatyam not merely as a performance tradition, but as a practice shaped by generations of performers, social transformations, and historical change. Historical inquiry became a means of understanding the form beyond technique and choreography.

The conversation repeatedly returned to the role of historical awareness within contemporary dance education. Sahil argued that practitioners should engage with these histories, even if only briefly, because they provide important context for understanding the art form. At the same time, they cautioned against treating such knowledge as an obligation imposed upon dancers. Rather than a burden, historical engagement was described as an opportunity to cultivate a richer and more nuanced relationship with one's practice.

This perspective raises broader questions about how history is transmitted within classical dance communities. While certain narratives become central to institutional histories, others remain peripheral or are forgotten altogether. Discussing this issue, Sahil observed that collective memory is often shaped by popularity, controversy, and cultural priorities. Histories are not simply preserved; they are selected, refined, and sometimes omitted.

Within this process of selection, the histories of the Devadasis occupy a particularly complex position. Sahil reflected on the fact that while Bharatanatyam has achieved widespread recognition and prestige, the women whose artistic practices contributed to its development often remain absent from popular accounts of its history. Their observation points toward a broader tension within classical dance discourse: the celebration of an art form alongside the marginalization of some of the communities historically associated with it.

The discussion also touched upon questions of identity and belonging. As a Keralite practitioner, Sahil described how learning about the Devadasis reshaped their relationship with Bharatanatyam. Historical knowledge did not distance them from the form; rather, it deepened their appreciation of its cultural significance. Understanding the social worlds from which the dance emerged encouraged a view of Bharatanatyam as a living artistic tradition embedded within larger histories of community, devotion, and cultural practice.

Toward the end of the conversation, Sahil shared a saying in Tamil that continues to inform their understanding of dance: "If the dance is worship, then the stage will be your temple." The statement encapsulates a perspective in which performance extends beyond technical accomplishment. Dance becomes a site of discipline, devotion, expression, and personal meaning. It is through such perspectives that one begins to understand how practitioners negotiate the relationship between tradition, history, and contemporary artistic life. This interview forms part of RTN's ongoing effort to document practitioner voices and oral histories. Such conversations do not merely provide commentary on dance; they constitute valuable historical sources in their own right. They reveal how artists encounter history, how they interpret inherited narratives, and how they situate themselves within traditions that continue to evolve.

By recording these reflections, the project seeks to preserve not only information about dance practices, but also the ways practitioners think about memory, identity, pedagogy, and cultural inheritance. Interviews such as this remind us that performance traditions are sustained not only through institutions and archives, but through the experiences, interpretations, and voices of the people who continue to practice them.

Note: A transcript of this interview was added to the Relearning the Nautch archive at a later date. The interview itself was conducted earlier through text messages and voice notes, and was subsequently transcribed for archival purposes.