The annual Brahmotsavam celebration at the Shri Ranganatha temple isn’t just a religious affair. The week-long celebration dedicated to Lord Vishnu incorporates the Ranbagh dance and music festival. While each day ends with a mystifying performance by world class artists, an enchantress stole the show Saturday night. Gauri Sharma Tripathi is not only an extraordinary Khatak dancer but is also among those artists who are dedicated to taking the art form places.

Gauri’s first show in the city, she says, was as much a mind-blowing experience for her as it was for the spectators. “Dancing under the stars at a 400-year-old temple was invigorating. For an artist, it is an honour to perform in an open space, as even passersby stop to watch. It was accessible even to the istriwallah under the tree. It is easy to fill a Nehru Auditorium or any other venue with 3,000 people, but our effort is to take the classical art forms to the masses.”

Gauri is inspired by local dance exponent Swapnasundari. “Seeing Swapnaji was inspiring. There is incredible work happening at the grass-root level and we need people like her to revolutionalise art forms.” The danseuse, on her part, is involved with the Urban Vani — a choir that blends the modern vocal music form of beat boxing with Kathak — to take the classical forms to the lay man. Gauri explains, taking example from her Hyderabad performance, “The piece on Dakshya yagna involves centuries-old poetry, but it sounds like verses from modern rap. Youngsters will appreciate traditional forms better if presented in a language that they understand.”