Shovana Narayan decodes dance through stone in new book on karanas
The next time you walk through a museum or pause before the weathered sculptures of an ancient temple, look closely at the dancers carved into pillars, ceilings, and walls. What appears to be an elegant pose could have been caught in the middle of a movement from a dance performed centuries ago.That is the premise of Speaking Sculptures: Karanas in Kathak, veteran Kathak dancer Shovana Narayan’s new book. “These temples largely depict the karanas as codified by Bharata Muni.
- ▪The next time you walk through a museum or pause before the weathered sculptures of an ancient temple, look closely at the dancers carved into pillars, ceilings, and walls.
- ▪What appears to be an elegant pose could have been caught in the middle of a movement from a dance performed centuries ago.That is the premise of Speaking Sculptures: Karanas in Kathak, veteran Kathak dancer Shovana Narayan’s new book.
- ▪“These temples largely depict the karanas as codified by Bharata Muni.
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| Original publisher | The Hindu |
| Canonical URL | https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/dance/shovana-narayan-decodes-dance-through-stone-in-new-book-on-karanas/article71262320.ece |
| Publication time | Fri, 24 Jul 2026 18:54:58 +0530 |
| Retrieval time | 2026-07-24T13:44:33.599Z |
| Last seen | 2026-07-24T13:44:33.599Z |
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Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
The next time you walk through a museum or pause before the weathered sculptures of an ancient temple, look closely at the dancers carved into pillars, ceilings, and walls. What appears to be an elegant pose could have been caught in the middle of a movement from a dance performed centuries ago.That is the premise of Speaking Sculptures: Karanas in Kathak, veteran Kathak dancer Shovana Narayan’s new book. Rather than treating temple sculptures as merely decorative art, she views them as repositories of movement, probing whether the karanas described in Bharata’s Natyashastra still survive in contemporary Kathak.The 108 Karanas have long been associated with temples such as Brihadeeswara in Thanjavur and Nataraja in Chidambaram, built in the Chola-era.
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