Nadhi Thekkek of Nava Dance Theatre – Alamo, CA

Nava Dance Theatre is a Bay Area based, Bharatanatyam dance company that aims to develop classically influenced work based on contemporary themes. Company dancers Nadhi, Sophia, and Arun will partner with renowned composer G.S. Rajan to present The Cloud Messenger, a Bharatanatyam adaptation of the poem, Meghadhooth, by 5th century Indian poet, Kalidasa.

Nadhi, Sophia, and Arun received their Bharatanatyam training from Smt. Sundara Swaminathan, Artistic Director of Kala Vandana Dance Company. Rajan received is music training with various stalwarts while studying at Kalakshetra College of Fine Arts and has been creating critically-acclaimed music compositions globally for nearly two decades.

2013 Festival Weekend Two Artist

“The Cloud Messenger”

Company dancers Nadhi Thekkek, Sophia Valath, and Arun Mathai will partner with renowned composer G.S. Rajan to present The Cloud Messenger, a Bharatanatyam adaptation of the poem, Meghadhootha, by 5th century Indian poet, Kalidasa. In this piece, an exiled yaksha (or demi-God) is distraught over the separation from his beloved. In his sorrow, he tries to convince a young raincloud to relay a message to his faraway love. The raincloud is unsure if the yaksha’s love is worth the seemingly dangerous journey which would need to be taken to deliver this message. The landscapes, rivers, and mountain ranges that the raincloud would come across are indeed both sites to see, but are also sites to be weary of. Would this voyage be worth the raincloud’s efforts? This magical and unconventional romance shows why loves journey, though risky, is indeed something beautiful.

For me, creating work is often an outward presentation of a very personal journey. In reading Kalidasa’s Meghadhootha, I initially drew inspiration from many different translations, and literary commentaries. In reading the epic poem over and over again, there were certain verses that leapt out from the pages. These lines were coaxed by my own [...]

I was first inspired by Kalidasa’s Meghadhuta (The Cloud Messenger) in 2009. At the time, I was exploring the role of the messenger in Indian texts and poetry. Often times the role of the messenger was simply stated – a person carrying a message from one lover to another. In dance, in some of the [...]