Friends,
The 13-member male dancers of Narthana Purusha gave the audience a riveting showcase of what male dancers can do – an unadulterated male energy, both raw and authentic, exuding strength and precision combined, conceived with theatricality and clear artistic direction.
The audience, rooted to their seats, took in before their very eyes the intimacy and close proximity of performer-audience – the male sturdy stomping, blessed by swirling male sweat – Moksha, indeed, it was!
Transported to another realm, 13 gandharvas enacted once again the Myths of Creation: the heroic gods and mean-looking demons descended to Churn the Milky Ocean; Siva as Bhairava (accompanied by his bhootaganas) danced on the cremation ground of Manikarnika Ghat of Kasi (Varanasi). The gasp of wonderment from the audience was palpable!
This was the second time Narthana Purusha was performed, this time for two days on 7 & 8 Feb, 2026 for a studio performance at Sutra House.
Kudos to the two artistic directors, Guru Nadarajan Muniandy of Subraanjali Dance Theatre and Guru Kunaratnam Velautham of Vehaara Fine Arts for initiating the confluence of these male dancers of both senior and younger male artistes of their institutions.
Male dancers of Indian classical dance is a dying breed in Malaysia. Malaysian males prefer the safe realm of IT and as watchers of football. As such, they tend to be culturally underdeveloped. This can be disastrous if and when they happen to be CEOs of Corporations which requires the sensitivity of art & culture to deal with the totality of leadership.
Sutra would celebrate if we happen to have ONE male dancer intake for the year. And if the male child displays a modicum of talent, HE would be given a royal treatment! That is how precious the phenomenon of a male dancer is in Sutra’s midst.
For that matter, over the decades, we could only present a few but precious performances of exclusive male dancers. Works such as ‘Boys in Bharatanatyam’, ‘Divine Encounters’, ‘Narthaka Festival’ were the crown jewels in the sea of female dancers.
Siva Nataraja the Progenitor of Dance is a male. Yet, the scene of dance in Malaysia is bereft of the balance of the male presence. The Anima & Animus lack the psychic integration. The civilising chivalry of the Zapin, let alone complex Indian classical dance is beyond the male scope.
It’s time Culture (in which Dance is a vital component) is introduced in General Education so that the general population is once again inducted to Culture/Dance as a general and integral balance/factor to come to term within our ‘conversation’ with regard to outer and inner landscape!
Ramli